Know Me No Longer
by NenePasciele
Summary: Tsuna lived in Italy for most of his life as the Vongola Heir while Reborn tutored him since the age of 3. But after Reborn's sudden disappearance, Tsuna faced a traumatic experience and had his opinion of the mafia change entirely. With his mother, he moves to Namimori where he leads a 'normal life', until a certain tutor comes back after an 8 year separation. OOC Tsuna enjoy
1. Prologue: When You Grow Older

**Hey so I'm new here at KHR central haha  
****Well for writing a story that it  
****And I'm not sure if there's another story like this but trust me I search long and hard  
****I might've seen maybe a few stories similar maybe… hopefully not haha  
****But I still hope you guys like this!**

**Please go easy on me lol but criticism is accepted all the same, it helps in growth  
****But I do have a bad habit of starting stories I don't wanna finish in the future  
****Though imma try and break this habit for you guys if you really like this story**

**Well, enough of my ranting jabber gahhh  
****We Start!**

Quick Summary:

What if Tsuna had met Reborn in elementary school rather than in middle school? What if he was more involved with the mafia earlier than he was? What if because of a past traumatic incident, he's closed himself off from others he doesn't feel could be trusted? Tsuna had lived his whole life which revolved around Japan but he's experienced a whole other world in Italy. He's still the same old, lovable Tsuna with a small twist to him and he'd had Reborn as his tutor since he was 4 years old but after parting ways for about 8 years, he comes back to Japan to wreak havoc on the poor boys life once again.

Quick Note:  
"speaking"  
'_thoughts'  
_"_Italian"_

* * *

Prologue: When You Grow Older...

"Okaa-san, where are you?" A little boy roamed the grand halls of an outrageously large mansion as he looked for is mother. Said little boy was maybe around 3 feet tall with a head topped with messy brown hair. His large brown eyes were filled with worry as he looked around for his mom.

Just then, one of the maids of the house had come out of a room and had seen the little boy. _"Oh, young master, you should come along. It's almost lunch time." _She said to him as she reached for his hand.

"_But I can't find my mom. Dad told me to go get her but she wasn't in her room."_ He explained to her.

"_I'm sure she'll be there by this time, we should go check. If she's still not there, then I will look for her for you, after all, you're still a growing boy and you need to eat." _She smiled to him as he then nodded and took her hand. The pair had made though the mansion and walked into the dining room together. When they had walked in, the young boy had found his grandfather to be sitting at the head of the table, his father on his left and a man whom was known as his grandfather's storm guardian on his right along with the other guardians lined down the table. Beside his father was his mother.

"Okaa-san!" the boy exclaimed as he then thanked the maid and then ran off to sit beside her.

"Ah, Tsu-kun, I was wondering where you had gone." She said as she greeted her son.

"Tsuna, we were just talking about you." His father had said as his grandfather nodded as well.

"We were discussing the fact that you will one day inherit our... uh, company." He said as he noted that Tsuna's mother was present as well. Though she lived in the household, she was unaware that the family was really mafia related or the fact that her husband was an external advisor to said mafia family.

"Why me?" Tsuna wondered. "Why can't Otou-san do it?"

"Well, I'm already the external advisor to the family, so I'm in a position where I can't lead the family and am not eligible to become next in line." His father explained, his 3 year old son just nodding in understanding, though he didn't really understand.

"Also with the way my family is, me not having a son of my own, I've decided to pass this on to you and your father. It appears as though you will be the next in line for the title of Decimo and with your birthday coming up, you'll be turning 4 this October. With this, you will begin your... ahem, studies in order to be prepared for your future inheritance. You will be enrolled in school and will be assigned a home tutor for your... special studies." He explained to the boy. Despite his age, Tsuna was exceptionally bright, was quick on his feet and adapted easily so he knew the boy somewhat understood.

"Okay." Tsuna said with a cute smile on his face. "But who's my tutor? What is a tutor?" Tsuna wondered as he thought about it.

"A tutor is a personal teacher that will help you at home with your school work." Tsuna's mom, Nana, explained to her son.

"So I'll have two teachers?" Tsuna seemed to find the idea interesting.

"Yes that's right, and you'll learn even more than other kids will." His dad added.

"Yay, so who is he?" Tsuna asked before taking a mouthful of food.

"Chaos." A young man had stood in the doorway to the large dining room as all heads turned towards him. The man wore all black with a white dress shirt under his suit and a black fedora on his head. It was tilted over his eyes, hiding the majority of his expression though his devious smile still present on his face.

"Ah here he is now, Tsuna, I would like you to meet your new home tutor, Reborn." Nono had introduced.

"Domo, Reborn-san!" Tsuna waved towards the man who just nodded in response.

"Would you like to join us, Reborn-san?" Nana offered him a seat.

"No thank you, I had eaten before I arrived." Reborn just settled for leaning against the wall.

"Well, feel free to pull up a chair." Tsuna's father, Iemitsu, offered the man.

"Will do." Reborn said though he didn't budge from his spot. Tsuna just blinked as he looked at the man. He seemed nice enough and he was friendly with his grandfather as well, so it may turn out to be not so bad. Tsuna had a few past experiences with his grandfather's other friends but they didn't seem as friendly as he had made them out to be. Though his mother was none the wiser as she just wandered around the mansion, thinking that they were all business partners, which in a way, they were.

After Tsuna was done eating, his father had suggested that he and Reborn go somewhere to get to know each other better. Tsuna nodded and then ran over towards Reborn and took his hand, leading him out of the dining hall. Reborn just followed much to the amusement of the guardians who continued to eat. They all loved their boss's grandson even though they weren't really blood related and he was the one that seemed to add a little sun and joy to their day every time they saw him. "Jaa, where should we go?" Tsuna asked the man but the man suddenly stopped, causing the little boy to suddenly get pulled back by the force and hit Reborn's leg with his back.

"Tsuna, do you know how to speak Italian?" The man asked as Tsuna looked up above him.

"Uh huh." Tsuna said.

"_Then from now on, we'll be speaking Italian. It will help with your knowledge on the language and make sure that specific people won't know what we're talking about." _Reborn said cautiously as he looked around.

"_But everyone in the mansion knows how to speak and understand Italian. The only person who doesn't know is..." _Tsuna started as he then realized what Reborn was getting at but didn't really understand why.

"_That's right, only your mother doesn't know what's really happening here. Of course before now, you didn't know exactly what went on either but I'm here to tell you."_ Reborn looked at the confused child as he then commenced in bringing the child outside in the garden. They'd walked until they reached a wooden bench and sat there in the middle of the garden. _"So you will need to hide all the information that you learn from me from your mother and anybody else for that matter unless needed. There are some things that she will need to know however this isn't one of those things. You will learn little by little but eventually you will need to fight for your rightful place as the Vongola Decimo."_

"What er... _What's Vongola? I heard some of grandpa's friends say this before and calling him this too but I never knew what it meant."_ Tsuna asked his new tutor, remembering that he was supposed to speak Italian only.

"_Well, the family that you think of as a normal family is actually an Italian mafia with unmatched global connections and a great deal of power. As we progress, you will eventually learn all that you need to and how vital it is for you to keep information a secret and must share only to those whom you think are trustworthy." _Reborn explained but then remembered that he was speaking with a three year old.

"_Were you able to understand all of this Tsuna?" _Reborn made sure not to lose the kid in all of this adult talk. If possible, the ninth would of preferred to have found a better, more suitable inheritor and would of made sure to hide this entire world of destruction from his beloved grandson, just like how Iemitsu had managed to somehow keep his duties a secret from Nana and portrayed himself as a construction worker for cover. Although, it seems that not everything goes as planned and has apologized repeatedly to Iemitsu for dragging his son into the mafia world.

Iemitsu did hear any of it for he didn't blame the Nono for his son's fate. If anything, it would be his own fault though the Nono had also protested to this as well. They tried hard, tracing the lineage of the family tree but it was still in the processing stages. Therefore, they had no choice but to deem Tsuna as the heir for now and give him the proper training while he was still young. It didn't matter what they had to do, if it was for the sake of Tsuna being prepared and ready to take on whatever may come his way, so be it.

The brown haired boy refreshed his mind a bit as he thought of the words that the man had just spoken. Sure he was three years old, but that didn't mean his vocabulary was limited. _"So Vongola means that this family is a fighting family, right? And grandpa is the head of this secret thing that mom isn't supposed to know about. I'll learn a lot of secret stuff that I'm only allowed to share with people who I think are good guys. That must be important 'cause you said it a whole bunch of times." _Tsuna stated as he looked up at the man who seemed to be taken aback by the little boy.

"_You..." _Reborn didn't know what to say. He then regained his composure before explain the things that he'll learn with him for the next few years. The pair talked about battle training, self defense training and mental training, in other words, studying. Reborn even went into how he should be sociable with others and mannerly. Tsuna just absorbed everything in like a healthy three year old should.

"_You'll be a great person when you grow up." _Reborn said as he ruffled his hair playfully while Tsuna laughed.

The training had gone by exceptionally well, even better than what most people would have thought; however, through the years as time went on, Tsuna had grown and Reborn had gotten harsher and harsher with his training. He left from time to time to fulfill his other duties as a hitman, which he had eventually told Tsuna was his primary obligation. And with each return, Reborn had changed and seemed to be more strict and was even harder on the poor boy than the last time they've met.

Eventually, things have started to change as Tsuna grew older and became more aware of what was happening around him. He started to despise the mafia and everyone involved, he began to resent his father even more for being around less and lying to his own family, causing his mother unwanted pain, and eventually, he started to trust people less and less due to some unwanted memories that were said to have been traumatic for the boy.

Tsuna and his mother had both decided that it would be best for them if they had gotten away for their life at the mansion for a little while and decided to take a summer vacation in their native land, Japan. Though, this vacation had ended with them staying there permanently and Tsuna attending school in the area. His father hardly visited because of his so called construction job which didn't matter much for Tsuna, the only thing he worried about was how his mother had felt. Tsuna had left his life in Italy when he was 9 years old, rejecting his life completely as a mafiaso, as the heir to the Vongola Famiglia, everything. This all happened three years after Reborn had stopped coming back to the mansion regularly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna had started in the 4th grade when he'd gotten into the Japanese school year, with summer vacation being in the middle of the year then the students continue on with the same grade, while in Italy, the school year begins in September. Either way, Tsuna would've ended up in the same grade anyways but with this, he'd still be all caught up due to his advanced tutoring in the Vongola mansion. If he wanted, Tsuna could've been moved up to the seventh grade. The brown haired boy, however, had decided to keep his family heritage a secret, not wanting any unwanted attention with his classmates and also decided to keep a low profile in school so as to not attract any outside attention.

"Students, it seems that we have a transfer student joining us this year. Please make him feel welcome. You may come in now." The teacher called out to the boy who waited to be called into the classroom from the hallway. Tsuna had entered and stood in front of the class. He told his mom to make sure not to say where he was transferring from; otherwise, the other kids would make a big deal about it.

"Hello, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. (please take care of me/ I'll be in your care)" Tsuna bowed in greeting and looked around shyly as everyone just looked at him.

"Sawada-kun, you may take your seat beside Sasagawa-chan. Sasagawa-chan, may you please raise your hand so that Sawada-kun may know where you are?" The teacher called out as a small, orange haired girl raised her hand. Tsuna had made his way over towards her as she smiled and introduced herself as Kyoko and wished to be addressed by this name. The boy then told her to call him Tsuna in return. She nodded in agreement as they then listened to their teacher.

Tsuna wasn't sure why he had offered his first name to her since he still didn't trust her as much yet. Though, he let it be and decided not to make further contact as the day went on.

As school days passed on, others had found out that Tsuna was pretty bright, not that he'd shown his true knowledge to any of them. He was also athletic, level headed yet very seclusive. This had led to him being alone most of the time, despite the attempts of other kids to try and get to know the boy. He just brushed them off and they couldn't do anything further than this. Everyone had thought of him as a hard shell that was even harder to crack. No one could really get close enough to find out much about his past or his family or himself for that matter. That is, no one, with the exception of Sasagawa Kyoko.

She would often try and have a decent conversation with the boy but she would only get quick responses and hardly anything in return. She didn't stop there though, she vowed to herself to get Tsuna to talk to her like a friend, no matter how long it took. Good thing for her that length wasn't an option for it had taken almost 3 months before she had been asked a question by said boy. And after that, Tsuna had started conversations with her, even if they only lasted for maybe 10 minutes max.

He'll have to admit to himself, Kyoko was very persistent and he even started taking a liking to her company from time to time but that wasn't enough to convince him entirely. He still gave her the cold shoulder but when he felt like it, he'd talk back in which, made the other so unbelievably happy.

After this, Tsuna had begun speaking with others briefly, but only when he needed something, when the time was appropriate or when he had to because the class required it. The only 'real' conversations he had were with Kyoko. Nobody had really gotten to know Tsuna though, even when he had remained as their classmate for the future years to come, he didn't reveal anything like his life had depended on it. The only information that they've managed to gather was from observations that they've made; it felt as though they were studying him like a newly discovered species. Was he really that interesting, just because he chose to separate himself from the rest of the class? Tsuna never really understood why they couldn't just leave him alone and be in peace.

Eventually, Tsuna had grown accustomed to his new life and classmates.

And now we've come to the present day where our story begins with the opening ceremony for the new students of Namimori Middle School, where a 13 year old Tsuna has now attended for a year. But what he didn't know was that his first year would be the last of his ever so peaceful days.

**Jaa~ how was it?  
****You like it, not like it?  
****Good or Bad?  
****I'm not really sure but I wanted to give it a shot anyways  
****I really do hope this makes sense, it made sense to me  
****Though, I'm the one with the ideas of where to take this story -.-'  
****Now I'm doubting myself, I should end this before I change my mind**

**Haha, see ya ^^  
****Owari desu~**

Updated: 13/11/2012


	2. Target 1: The Return of the Hitman

**Chiwassu~~~  
****I decided to get a move on with this story  
****And I'd like to say thanks for the supportive reviews you guys gave ^^**

**But there's a quick question, does anyone know (if it was stated) when the arcobaleno became babies? Like how many years ago before Reborn met Tsuna? If anyone knows, then I'll change the story information but if not, then I'll leave it**

**Thanks for the future help  
****Yoroshiku!**

**Disclaimer: I own no rights towards Katekyo Hitman Reborn  
****Ps: I said in the prologue that Tsuna was 14 but I guess I meant that it was a borderline of the grade… so I guess he's technically 13 turning 14 in October**

**And for this story, I don't think I'll be following very chronologically and will go at my own pace but the story will progress in the same way ish**

"talking"  
"_Italian"  
_'_thoughts'_

* * *

Target 1: Return of the Hitman

Tsuna had woken up early that morning to his mother's call. He sat up, yawned and then smiled as he heard her calming voice. "Tsu-kun, are you awake? You don't want to be late on the first day of school." Tsuna then grumbled at the mention of school. That day was the start of his second year at Namimori Middle School, which meant another year with the same people whom he didn't want to associate with.

"Hai, Okaa-san, I'm up!" Tsuna called, trying to sound cheery for his mom. After getting dressed, he ran down the stairs and took a piece of bread for breakfast.

"Are you leaving so soon?" Nana looked at her only child.

"Yeah, I don't want to get caught up in the first day rush, especially with all the first years coming to the school." Tsuna explained to her as he put his shoes on. "But I'll be coming back a little earlier since today's the first day."

"Oh I see, I'll be in the market today so you'll have to manage in the house by yourself today." She said, sitting at the table with food prepared on it.

"Alright. Ittekimasu." Tsuna gave her one last smile before rushing out the door.

"Haa, Tsu-kun smiles so brightly." Nana said as she smiled at the image. "If only he'd smile like that when he's with his friends." She then left the thought forgotten as she started to eat.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna had walked through the gates and now headed towards the school building and noticed the other kids around him walking in either pairs or groups. They were all admiring the sakura blossoms that have bloomed around the school yard. Tsuna also thought they were beautiful but didn't look up to stare at them for he would eventually catch the eye of someone who'd know him and would catch him in the act of doing something uncharacteristic of him. As much as possible, he didn't so much as give any hint of an expression except those of disinterest or boredom so that people wouldn't approach him as often. Well, everyone with the exception of a pair of siblings whom have squirmed their way into his daily life.

"Tsuna-kun!" called a female from behind the brunette. "Ohayo!" She greeted and smiled at the slightly surprised expression.

"Ohayo, Kyoko-chan." He said monotony in response as they started to walk together.

"I heard we're in the same homeroom this year." Kyoko informed, trying to strike a conversation. In all of her years of knowing the boy, she was usually the conversation starter but she knew that the other had gotten used to their talks. However, it still made her feel bad that after the 4 or 5 years of knowing the boy, she still only knew things that about him that people would learn upon getting to know one another for the first time, while he knew almost everything about her. The reason for this being that she'd attempted to get him to open up by letting herself open up first but it didn't seem to work.

She wanted to know what had happened to the boy during the years that they hadn't known each other but she knew it wasn't really her place to pry at whatever the boy wanted to hide. But when the time calls for it, she'll be there and ready to listen when he did decide to share with her. "Oh really?" Tsuna then answered her question, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah and Hana is there too. You should talk to her more, she's really... um... curious about you."

"Kurokawa's made it painfully obvious that she doesn't want to talk to me." Tsuna rebutted the comment.

"No, she's just angry that you always brush her off when she tries to communicate. She doesn't take well to being ignored." Kyoko smiled a bit at the thought.

"Yeah, well that's the reason why everyone calls you Dame-Tsuna." Another female approached them.

"Hana, you shouldn't mention things like that." Kyoko said towards the girl with a pleading expression.

"Why? It's his fault in the first place." She argued. Tsuna had heard of the name which indeed meant No-Good Tsuna but it didn't make any reference to his skills or abilities since he wasn't 'dame' at anything at all. It was the fact that he refused to communicate or interact with anyone unless required to, but the two girls at the moment were exceptions due to Kyoko's stubbornness. If anyone other than these two or a certain older brother had approached him, it would do them no good since no matter the matter that they had with him, he wouldn't give them the time of day, ignore them or refuse to help.

"If you weren't so seclusive with your actions, then you would be way more popular." Hana continued.

"Being popular doesn't concern me so much." Tsuna shrugged and changed his shoes before going towards their homeroom class. Hana narrowed her eyes angrily as she felt brushed off yet again.

"I don't see why you want to hang around him so much." Hana grumbled as she looked at Kyoko with an obviously annoyed expression.

"Tsuna-kun may not like to be around or talk to people but he's really nice when you get to know him more." Kyoko said as she remembered an incident that had happened during their childhood.

"Whatever, you do what you want but I'm sure that your brother makes the situation with him much worse than when he is with us. Does he still pester him about the boxing club?" Kyoko nodded. She wasn't sure what had happened exactly but one summer, when they were kids, she had been kidnapped by some bullies who wanted to get back at her older brother, Ryohei. Her brother had come in to save her but he couldn't take on all the bullies at once and was getting beaten up by them. He didn't back down however and eventually start to fight them off but it didn't make much of a difference. It wasn't until a boy, whom she later recognized as Tsuna, had come to help the Sasagawa siblings. And since that day, she figured that her brother hadn't forgotten it and then started to recruit Tsuna when Ryohei had taken an interest in boxing.

She had once told this story to Hana in an attempt to get her to know the boy better but she just told Kyoko that the kid may or may not have been Sawada, so she didn't want to get her hopes up about it. However, Kyoko wasn't sad when getting that response; all that matter was having Hana hear the story and that was good enough for her.

The pair had walked into the classroom and then found two seats near the back by the windows. Kyoko had sat by the window while Hana sat next her. She then found Tsuna to be in the seat in front of her but he didn't make a move to acknowledge them as he continued to stare out the window. Class had then started once everyone became comfortable in their seats.

"Settle down, class. I'll be your teacher for the year, Nezu-sensei and I expect you all to arrive on time every day, no excuses." He said. Tsuna just rolled his eyes at the teacher. Normally, any teacher would introduce themselves kindly and then gain the trust of their students before getting into the hard to deal with things. If he started the school year like this, then it was obvious that he wouldn't be liked very much and wouldn't serve much as a helpful teacher.

Nezu-sensei then started with the morning announcements and upcoming important dates and such but no one really paid much attention. It was the first day of the new year after all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Soon the day ended and Tsuna was heading home earlier as he'd promised his mother. Kyoko had said her goodbyes to him as well while Hana just scoffed. Luckily, he didn't meet the persistent and not to mention, annoying older brother which gave the day a plus. The boy shook the thought of meeting the brother out of his head since there was a possibility of actually seeing the boy and continued on his peaceful walk. But then he suddenly felt a shiver down his back and froze for a moment. He turned but found himself to be alone in the neighbourhood. '_That's weird. I was sure someone was there_.' Tsuna thought as he continued to walk without letting his guard down.

When the boy began to move, he felt something again but didn't stop until he knew for sure where they were. It took him a long while to pinpoint where this person was exactly since this person knew how to mask their presence well. Soon Tsuna felt the air change and quickly dodged as something shot at him. "Who's there!" He exclaimed as his eyes narrowed. Tsuna looked on the ground to find a bullet hole and judging from the trajectory, this person was in the tree on his right.

"Maa, at least your skills haven't dropped, Dame-Tsuna." Tsuna raised an eyebrow, trying figure out who this person was.

"Who are you? Come out from that tree!" Tsuna went into defensive mode as a blur came from the tree and landed in front of him.

"So, we meet again, Dame-Tsuna." A baby dressed in a black suit and fedora said to the boy.

"What's a kid like you doing with a gun? That's dangerous." Tsuna kneeled down to meet the kid at eye level, concern and suspicion could be heard in his voice. "Besides how do you know that nickname? I don't want to be called that by someone like you, who says it like you're my superior." Tsuna frowned.

"Dame-Tsuna," the baby then held a green mallet, Tsuna not knowing where it came from, and whacked him in the head. "I can't believe you haven't cared enough as to forget the face of your tutor." The kid made another move to hit him but Tsuna braced himself to block the impact.

"What do you mean tutor? A kid like you can't possibly do that, and besides, the only tutor I had is probably dead by now." Tsuna stood up and motioned to walk away when the kid jumped and kicked his face. Though, he didn't make contact as Tsuna had expected an attack along those lines and blocked it.

"You shouldn't under estimate the world's strongest hitman." The kid said ominously, looking up at the teen, his eyes shadowed and hiding under his fedora with his smirk clearly visible on his face. The brunette suddenly felt recognition just then as an image whipped across his mind. When the boy glanced at the baby's face, his old tutor's image cross dissolved into the image and matched perfectly causing his eyes to widen. _'He couldn't possibly be...'_ thought Tsuna as he took a step backwards.

"So you finally realized." The baby said and looked at him from under his fedora.

"R-Reborn..." Tsuna sounded dumbfounded as the name came out.

"Took you long enough, Dame-Tsuna."

"W-where'd you go?" Tsuna's expression softened from hard suspicion to an expression of slight fear. "And why do you look like..."

"It's a long story." Reborn cut him off. "But I'm not going to tell you it." The brunette's expression then turned back to a hard one.

"Well, I didn't want to hear it anyways." The boy said, sounding slightly tsundere. "So what are you doing here when you have much more important things to do?" He asked sarcastically.

"The Nono had sent here to take on my new primary mission of picking up where we left off in my teachings." This had surprised Tsuna but he threw the infant a narrowed glance instead.

"Why would jii-chan suddenly want to pick up on this? I rejected that life and left it behind." The brunette now started to walk towards his home again.

"As the heir to the Vongola, you have an obligation to respect the current boss' request and to follow through with them; especially if it's the request of your grandfather." Reborn argued with him as he followed, walking on the cement walls on the right side of the boy.

"He's not really my jii-chan now is he and don't you dare bring dad into this either." Tsuna spat the words in disgust. He hated talking about his father and hated everything about him. He ignored and lied to his family, caused his own wife the pain of not being able to be with the one she loved and on top of all that, brought them into a world of darkness in which they'd never be able to escape from. Even at this very moment, Tsuna was experiencing the pull of that dark world trying desperately to reel him back in.

"You won't be able to evade the mafia forever Dame-Tsuna. No matter where you go, no matter who you're with, you'll always be connected to the mafia whether you like it or not and if you choose it so, your escape will come at a high price to pay." Tsuna was really getting angry as the conversation continued.

"It wasn't my decision to be brought up in that life. I should be able to decide on what I want or don't want to do!" He exclaimed, not looking at the baby hitman as he spoke. "It's not fair to me, or to mom, or to anyone that we know." Reborn took notice of the trembling shoulders of the teen. "Why should we have to live through something like this!" Reborn had a feeling that something had happened to the boy during his 8 year absence but whatever had happened, had caused Tsuna to change his perspective entirely. Nonetheless, Reborn would still push the position onto the poor teen.

"It's called destiny, something that you can never run away from, no matter how hard you try to fight it. It's something that will remain until the day it is fulfilled and won't ever let you out of its grip until it has come."

"Well I'm never going back to the mafia and there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind." Tsuna told him as his house came into view. "And don't get Okaa-san involved."

"Of course, I don't involve anyone who is completely innocent to the mafia ways."

'_And what do you make of me?'_ Tsuna thought sourly.

"You were always involved Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said suddenly.

"Still the mind reader, Reborn?" The brunette remained stubborn towards the hitman despite his fear. He then opened the door and walked in. He was about to close the door, leaving the baby hitman on the other side but as expected, the hitman was already in the house. _'Of course, invite yourself in.' _Tsuna thought bitterly but didn't voice this complaint and just let it go. "But I'm not in related to the family by blood. So there's no reason for me to be involved any longer since dad's only the external advisor to the family."

"As I said, you were always involved. Whatever you may say on this, you would have always been on the Vongola's radar and in our files. If we ever needed to have you come in, we would go get you whenever we wanted."

"Well, I don't care. I'm not going back and that's the last time I'm saying this. You can stay down here or whatever but don't freak out Okaa-san when she comes back." Tsuna marched upstairs and towards his room.

"What a problematic student I have. He used to be so cute and would do whatever I told him to. It seems I'll have to do a little information digging on what happened." Reborn tilted his fedora and rested on the couch. He knew that going up after the teen would do him no good, he would just keep fighting back on whatever he told him and knew that it would be useless. So he decided to take a nap until Nana had come back home but he'd have to find a proper explanation for his sudden height deficiency.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna just plopped his backpack on the ground and jumped into his bed. He sighed and rubbed his temples as his head started to spin. Why was it that every time Reborn entered or re-entered his life, everything would turn upside down? Tsuna's day had been completely average and dare he say, enjoyable, even with the little encounter with Kurokawa. But once Reborn had made his appearance the atmosphere had changed, his mind was clouded with unwanted memories and an unsettling worry was set in his chest.

It was exactly like those times when Reborn would suddenly disappear from time to time from the Vongola mansion, leaving Tsuna to train on his own. The days would go by as per usual until the hitman had made his unannounced reappearance. With each return the training given to the child Tsuna would become worse and harsher. The boy figured that with each new mission the hitman received, the worse off Reborn would be when he returned for some reason unknown to the child since Tsuna didn't know the result of the mission or even what it was about. And it was this trend in the hitman's mood that developed the fear Tsuna had towards him.

After all of the demonic training and evil done in the famiglia, Tsuna had hoped that he'd be rid of the mafia life when he and his mother had taken their vacation in Japan that one year. Before their vacation, Tsuna (age 9) had suddenly blown up at his father about his issues with the famiglia and proclaimed that he didn't want to be next in line anymore. Their fight had reached Nana's ears though she didn't know the reason for the argument but then suggested that she and her Tsu-kun take leave from the mansion for the summer so that her son could cool his head down. She figured that an environment change would benefit the boy and asked her husband about her idea. Iemitsu couldn't say no to his wife and then ran the idea by the Nono who had also agreed that having Tsuna take leave for a couple weeks wouldn't be so bad for the child.

However, when the trip had neared its end, Tsuna had somehow found the opportunity to escape Italy with his mother by acting slightly childlike and begging his mother to stay and live in Japan. Nana couldn't say that she disagreed since she missed her homeland just as much. She then asked her husband about her suggestion once again.

Iemitsu and the part of the famiglia who knew the woman, all wanted her to stay in the dark about the mafia ordeal, so they had no choice but to agree with Nana's request again to let them reside in Japan so as to not break cover, but they all knew that they'd be losing the chance to take back Tsuna to continue training him. The Nono wasn't too thrilled about the loss of his grandson but was, at the same time, impressed that he'd managed to find a way to escape them, even if only temporary.

Tsuna knew it wasn't very nice of him to use his mother as an excuse to take off but he just couldn't deal with that life anymore. "I just wish everything would stay the way they are." The brunette sunk his head into his pillow and remained there for a long period of time.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Back downstairs, Reborn was awoken by the closing of the front door. He turned his head and looked to see the familiar face of the advisor's wife. When she took her shoes off and walked into the house, she noticed him looking at her and she instantly smiled before walking over towards him.

"Oh, hello. How did you get into our house?" She asked sweetly. "Did you follow Tsu-kun home?"

"Ciaossu, Nana." Reborn started off. "I'm sure you won't recognize me but I'm..."

"Oh, of course I recognize you. You are Reborn-kun, ne?" Reborn didn't say anything. "You still look as young as ever. You make mama jealous." Nana said in reverie. "So is Reborn-kun back to tutor Tsuna again? I'm sorry to say this but it seems Tsu-kun doesn't need a tutor. I asked him many times if he wanted another tutor but he refuses."

"Don't worry, I'll break through Dame-Tsuna and make him a great boss." Reborn said vaguely.

"But Tsu-kun said that he doesn't want to be the next boss of his grandfather's company." Nana sighed since she knew that his decision would make her husband very sad. "But Reborn-kun is welcome to stay here if he will become Tsu-kun's tutor again."

"That's very kind of you mama. I will repay you one day." Reborn expressed his thanks towards the woman. Nana just gave a warm smile, happy being called mama by the child and then went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Ahh, Reborn-kun," she paused and turned around towards him. "Would you please get Tsu-kun and tell him that dinner will be in 30 minutes?" Reborn nodded in response. Nana then disappeared towards the kitchen. The baby had looked up the stairs and then grinned since he now had an excuse to go up and get Tsuna down. He headed up and stood in front of the door but figured it to be locked. That wouldn't' stop him however as he climbed into a hideaway and reappeared into the boy's room.

"Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said as he caught sight of the brunette on the bed.

"What do you want, Reborn?" Tsuna sat up from the bed and glared at the hitman.

"Mama said that she wants you downstairs for dinner in 30 minutes."

"Oh, is that all? So you just found an excuse to come up here." The boy said skeptically.

"Iya, I just came up here to tell you what mama wanted." Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the hitman calling his mother 'mama' but forgot it as he left it as a result of his mother's age complex.

"So you didn't come up here to try and convince me again?" Tsuna challenged.

"Iya, I came to tell you that you are an official candidate to be the Vongola Decimo, you just went upstairs before I got a chance to say it. There's no one else that the Nono has in mind to succeed him. But if you don't, then the Famiglia will fall and the mafia world will become chaotic. No innocent person would be safe as each mafia famiglia will strive to take its place as the number one in the world. There'll be a mass of war breakouts all over the world and no soul will be able to avoid destruction an..."

"I get it, I get it!" Tsuna forcefully cut off the baby's speech, not wanting to hear more. "You don't have to say anymore but that still doesn't make me want to be part of the mafia. I'm sure someone like Xanxas can take care of the family."

"Oya, you know about Xanxus?" Reborn was genuinely interested in how Tsuna had obtained that information.

"Yeah, I heard about him getting adopted by the Nono. I like to be well informed on the life that may come back to haunt me, so I keep these kinds of information handy in case."

"Then as you may know, Xanxus is ineligible to become the Decimo due to his aggressive nature, his lack of patience and respect towards his subordinates and his blood heritage."

"I thought the blood heritage was irrelevant since jii-chan doesn't have any." Tsuna tried any means to get out of being roped back into the Vongola.

"It isn't only the blood relation towards the Nono that is considered. It is by any person ever involved in the lineage of bosses."

"So why can't you find one of their grandkids or great grandkids instead of relying on an external advisor's son?" Reborn was really getting annoyed with Tsuna's constant rebuttals.

"It's because they were either all wiped out, never existed or were already made part of the famiglia and have become unable to switch roles... or are dead."

"What a way to sugar coat it." Tsuna rolled his eyes at him. "But I guess I'll have to take you up on these lessons won't I." The boy finally gave in and stood from his bed.

"Why the sudden change?" Reborn didn't really trust the fact that the brunette suddenly gave himself up to the idea of training with him again. If anything, he knew that there was going to be some sort of catch.

"Well if I didn't agree, we would either continue with this debate until you shoot me or you'd eventually threaten me with something that I'd wish to never be threatened with. And it's not like you'd just pick up and leave just because I said no to you twice." Tsuna then looked at the hitman with a faint smile on his face. "But I guess it wouldn't be too bad to get back into training. I mean, I am sort of out of practice right?"

"Hmph..." Reborn just looked at the teen still waiting for the catch.

"But that still doesn't mean I accept the role of Vongola Decimo. I just thought it'd be a shame for you to waste your time by coming all the way here and not gaining anything out of it."

'_There it is...'_ Thought Reborn but continued to listen.

"So I'll give you this favor in return for another." Tsuna grinned.

"You think you're in a position to order me around, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn growled. "What favor were you thinking of?" He asked out of pure curiosity.

"I'll cash it in later. Now come on, okaa-san said that she'd be done in a half hour right?" Tsuna's expression turned back to its uninterested state and walked past the baby and down the steps.

"I guess he's gotten a bit better at negotiations but he's still soft in many other places and lacking in a vital one." Reborn said to himself and followed the boy. Although, that last look that Tsuna had given him as he stood from his bed, it had reminded the hitman of the small child that he'd attempted to train a long time ago but had failed due to certain circumstances. Even till then, it still gave him that uncomfortable feeling every time he thought of the brunette's unforgettably glowing smile.

**So how was it?  
****Choppy… alright…  
****Too much detail, too little?  
****Too fast?**

**I'm really paranoid because this is my first 'serious' KHR fic  
****And I haven't watched or read the series in such a long time  
****But well, I'm doing it little by little as reference hehe  
****Hope you liked it  
****And please ignore little screw ups that I may have overlooked  
****Owari desu~~~ ^^**

updated: 13/11/2012


	3. Target 2: Upcoming Trouble

**Chiiwasu minna-san  
****So I'm happy that you guys really like this story  
****Though I might try and stay away from the storyline just a bit  
****Just to make sure that I can end the story at a good point  
****But I'm not making any promises or anything  
****Just a fair warning to you all hehe**

**Saa~ We Start!**

**Disclaimer: No rights owned by me… yup**

* * *

Target 2: Upcoming Trouble 

Tsuna had been walking pretty slowly to school that morning. He'd woken up to an unpleasant wakeup call as Reborn had tried to bash his head in with a mallet made from what he found out was actually Leon. The brunette had no idea where a 'chameleon' like his 'new' home tutor's had come from but he knew for sure that he wasn't around when he was younger.

"What's up with Reborn..." Tsuna mumbled to himself as he narrowed his eyes. "First he tells me that he's going to train me and then the next morning says that he has to do something. He should get his priorities straight."

The boy then remembered the news that his mother had lain on him just moments before, which really got his blood boiling. "And who does he think he is to freeload in our house?!" Tsuna's hands clenched and his eyes were burning; however, the boy had yet to find out that the day still have more surprises waiting.

Tsuna had walked into the classroom and walked towards his seat. "Ohayo Tsuna-kun." He was greeted by the school idol, Kyoko.

The brunette looked at the girl's expression for a moment and noticed that something was a bit off with her smile. Though he didn't show any reaction to it or questioned it either. "Ohayo Kyoko-chan." Tsuna responded back simply, not changing his annoyed expression as he took his seat.

"I don't get why you always try so hard to talk to Sawada, Kyoko." Hana frowned at the girl.

"Just because I don't respond doesn't mean I can't hear, Kurokawa." Tsuna said, not shifting positions in the slightest.

"Like I care. Just because you're an antisocial monkey doesn't mean you're different from any other monkey in this school." She said harshly and glared daggers into the boy's back. The term 'monkey' as used by Hana was a term she used to describe the male species in the school, though she seemed to have categorized them under different groupings, depending on who they were. But all in all, they were still the same to her.

"Hana-chan..." Kyoko was about to say something when their teacher had walked in and demanded that they all shut up before he started class. They all just sat silently, not liking the tone their teacher used with them, even when it was only the second day in their new class. Hana seemed to have deemed him a monkey as well.

"Now, we have a new student, whom had been studying abroad in Italy, joining our class this year. You may introduce yourself." Nezu said to the transfer student.

'Italy huh?' Thought Tsuna. 'I'll bet anything that Reborn is behind this.'

"I'm Gokudera Hayato, and that's all you need to know." Said the silver haired boy as he then started to walk towards Tsuna's desk.

"Oi, Gokudera, your desk is over..." However, the teen didn't seem to be listening to the man at all and continued staring at the brunette in front of him. Tsuna just looked up at him with slightly narrowed eyes, not looking intimidated in the slightest.

"Is there a problem?" Tsuna continued to look hard at the other. Kyoko just looked between the two and wondered if they knew each other. Gokudera just grimaced and slammed his hand on the boy's desk.

"Listen, you're not worthy of being the Juudaime and I won't accept it at all." His voice was low so everyone couldn't hear what he had said to the brunette but Tsuna's gaze remained hard.

"If you keep talking about it like that then the whole ordeal won't be much of a secret, will it?" Tsuna smirked at him, making the silverette even more angry. Then with a kick at the desk, the silverette walked over towards his own assigned seat where he leaned against the back and propped his feet up on the table top. Nezu would have scolded him for his previous and current actions but the look that Gokudera made, as if daring him to say a word about any of it, the teacher remained silent about it all.

"Do you know him Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko whispered towards him, slightly worried that the boy had made a new enemy or something.

"No but I think I know someone who does." This statement caused the girl to look at him confusedly but didn't question it since she knew that she wasn't going to get a proper answer from him, explaining the statement. And then class had continued as normal until the lunch bell rang. As usual, Tsuna had stayed at his desk and ate there. He took a glance towards Gokudera who was suddenly bombarded with girls who were all asking him all sorts of questions like how and what Italy was like, how did he like Japan so far, if he had a girlfriend etc...

Gokudera just stood up and walked away from them but the girls, like sheep (as Kurokawa would put into words), followed closely behind him. 'He's pretty antisocial, isn't he? Well, I shouldn't be the one to talk though.' Tsuna thought to himself as he heard Kyoko get up then stood beside him. He looked up at her and noticed the same expression that she had had on that morning, a forced smile with worry clouding her eyes. "Is there something wrong, Kyoko-chan?" Tsuna tried to sound indifferent and hid his questioning worried voice.

"Ano... Tsuna-kun, did Mochida-sempai come and talk to you at all?" The girl now sounded worried.

"Mochida Kensuke of the Kendo club?" asked Tsuna. Kyoko nodded. "No, I've never talked to him. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Kyoko started but the door was suddenly slammed open.

"Where's Sawada Tsunayoshi?!" exclaimed a raven haired boy. Kyoko just jumped at the noise and turned around. The boy looked around the classroom and then spotted Kyoko. "Hey Kyoko, where's that Sawada kid that you're always hanging about with?"

"M-Mochida-sempai... eto." Kyoko was about to respond when the other looked at the boy she was standing next to.

"You're Sawada aren't you!" Mochida accused as Tsuna just sighed.

"What of it?" He responded uninterestedly.

"I challenge you to a match in the gym, right now!" He said, his nostrils flaring in anger.

"May I ask, why?" Tsuna commenced in unwrapping a bun he had on his desk.

"I challenge you for the hand of Sasagawa Kyoko. She's obviously more suited to being with me than being with you. And if you ever wondered as to why she's always with the likes of you is probably because of pity! So don't get all high and mighty because of that!" Mochida's taunting seemed really sudden and was like it came out of nowhere, without warning. Tsuna had no idea where all this anger was coming from or why it was directed at him, but he knew that it was something with Kyoko and this guy's feelings for Kyoko. He instantly pieced togethter that his sempai thought of him as some sort of threat. Kyoko just felt a bit hurt at how her sempai had thought she'd only hang out with Tsuna because of pity. She tried to talk her sempai out of it when they were talking earlier but he wouldn't listen to her at all. Hana just watched silently like everyone else in the room but she didn't like where this was heading either and she had a feeling that she knew where this was going.

"I refuse." Tsuna said nonchalantly and took a bite of the bread he had for lunch. Everyone relaxed that they've unknowingly tensed as the just as tense atmosphere had been ruined by the sudden refusal of the boy.

"Sasuga Dame-Tsuna." Some of the other students were listening in on the conversation.

"He really doesn't agree to anyone's requests, does he?"

"Wow, he even turned down a match from the Kendo Club Captain." Said kendo captain was now shivering in anger after being humiliated once again.

"I'll fight you, even if we have to do it right now in this room." The boy said as he took his bag off his back and motioned to unzip it. "Or are you just coward who hides behind a fake mask? Trying to be all tough and stuff when you can't even back it up." He tried desperately to get the boy to agree, just so that he could get the chance to show Kyoko that he was a better man than this Sawada was.

"I don't think that's a..." Kyoko made an attempt to try and stop him when Tsuna cut her off suddenly.

"Don't get me wrong..." Tsuna crumpled the wrapper in his hands and then tossed it towards the garbage can with ease. "I'm not refusing because I'm scared, it's just that class is going to start and I highly doubt that you'll be satisfied with the result in such a short period of time. Though I'm not very fond of fighting and try to avoid physical violence as much as possible, I don't think words alone can get through your thick skull. So I'll pound those words in forcefully." Tsuna leaned on his hand and looked up at his sempai, his eyes challenging.

"Fine, I'll see you when afternoon break starts." He eyed the brunette carefully before turning away.

"Wow, Dame-Tsuna actually agreed to the request."

"Maybe now, he'll finally say yes to helping out our club."

"Who do you think will win?"

The class was in a frenzy of talking and gossiping with each other about the huge upcoming event. Tsuna couldn't care less on what the others thought, but for a certain school idol, it was the worst possible outcome. She didn't like it when people fought, especially when it was for her sake. "Tsuna-kun..." She looked at him. "You don't have to figh..."

"Alright, class is starting so sit down." Their teacher had suddenly walked in as the bell went off. Kyoko was slightly stunned at being cut off yet again but reluctantly took her seat. However, even with the important lesson happening, she couldn't help but think about the fight that would be happening in less than an hour now. She had been counting down the minutes until their break and it wasn't getting any easier with every passing minute. Finally, she decided to write a note and threw it towards the boy in front of her.

Tsuna was slightly surprised by the sudden note but read it regardless.

"_Tsuna-kun, do you really have to fight Mochida-sempai?" _Kyoko asked in the note. Tsuna didn't turn around to face her but he could imagine her expression being a worried and upset one. He just smiled to himself a bit before answering back; something that would usually be uncharacteristic of him but he did it anyways.

"_He's the one that asked, so I can't say no. Don't worry, it'll be fine, and it's not your fault." _He wrote and discretely passed it back towards her. He heard some scribbling before the note had come back.

"_I don't want you to get hurt because of a dumb fight."_ Tsuna just rolled his eyes at the girl but continued to answer.

"_If you don't stop worrying, you'll shorten your life. I'll make sure that Mochida isn't hurt too badly, would that make you feel better?"_ He said back.

"_Just please be careful."_ Tsuna looked down at the words and felt his eyes widen slightly as he remembered something from his past. His pen shook in his hand as he hesitated to respond.

"_Aren't I always?"_ Kyoko read the last message before realizing that the hour had suddenly gone by and their break was going to start. The girl continued to look at the clock as if it were lying to her before looking to see the boy getting up and walking towards the door. She wanted to follow him but her feet wouldn't move. It wasn't until Hana stood up and snapped her out of it.

"Come on, we have to go watch." Hana said to her best friend.

"But... but..." Kyoko couldn't get her words out.

"Sawada's doing this for you. You have to go." Hana urged her but Kyoko didn't look convinced yet. "You know, I heard that Mochida asked you out but you rejected him." Kyoko looked shocked that her best friend had already found out about it. "Then he went on blaming Sawada because you're always hanging out and talking with him then decided to beat him in order to gain the right to go out with you."

"He misunderstood." Kyoko said briefly before her hand was being pulled.

"Well, since this is about you, we'll have to be present. It's our duty as his friends, right?"

"Hana-chan..." Kyoko was stunned that the girl had finally announced that she was actually friends with Tsuna. It had suddenly made her so happy. "Uhnn. We have to go and support Tsuna-kun."

"But you better not say that I called him my friend. He'll get a big head otherwise." Hana said demandingly but Kyoko didn't respond due to her happiness as they headed towards the gym. They had come to the doors and entered to find that there was already a big crowd made up of kids from each grade. It seemed that word had spread fast and everyone wanted to know what was going to happen between the Kendo Captain and the one everyone called 'Dame'. Many people had seemed to take this nickname as a negative towards the boy himself and didn't understand that it was meant to be directed towards the repeated response given by said boy.

It was easy to misunderstand since it was really an unofficial title given to an under known person. There were many freshmen and seniors talking about how Tsuna would lose but many second years had corrected them since the boy was pretty well known in their grade.

The two girls just pushed their way through until the two boys participating in the fight became visible. "Kyoko!" A loud voice called out to the pair.

"Onii-san." Kyoko turned to find the third year student.

"It's me to the EXTREME but what is Sawada EXTREMELY doing? He fights with the Kendo Club but won't Box for the Boxing Club? That's EXTREMELY unfair." Ryohei exclaimed.

"No, he isn't joining the Kendo Club. Mochida-sempai challenged him." Kyoko tried to explain.

"Sawada EXTREMELY wouldn't fight me though." Ryohei was a bit jealous that he didn't get to fight the boy too since he refused time after time. Kyoko just stopped trying to explain because she knew that it would take a lot of explaining to get her brother to understand and just looked towards the fight.

"I can't believe you showed up. From what I heard, you're pretty Dame aren't you?" Mochida started off with the taunting.

"Are words the only way you attack people? If you're words are a reflection of you're skills as a fighter than you mustn't be a big deal, ne?" Tsuna just put his hand in his pocket and stood there with a taunting gaze.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mochida called out angrily. "I'm not some pushover and they didn't make me the captain for nothing either."

"Hey, I didn't say anything about being a pushover but first off, you have to get your facts straight and find the meaning to them. If you can't do that much then what good would fighting techniques do for you?"

"Now that does it." Mochida grabbed his bamboo sword and charged into battle. He swung at the brunette who took a few steps back and continually dodged each blow. The third year tried his hardest to at least get a single hit on the boy but the longer the match went, the more his patience was wearing out that he was getting desperate. "Stay still why don't you." He growled under his breath.

"Here's a second tip, you're rage blinds you in battle to the point where you forget whatever kinds of techniques you may have learned." Tsuna then grabbed the bamboo after a medley of swings, freezing the other's movements. Everyone was stunned at the sudden halt in the action, wondering what happened.

"And third," Tsuna's eyes flashed dangerously, deciding that he should end this before it got slightly out of hand. So, before Mochida could do anything or realize what was going on, he was suddenly disarmed and was pushed off balance, making him fall backward. "You shouldn't make competitions just to impress a certain person. There's more than a 50 percent chance that they'll hate you because of that. Do you understand now?" Tsuna then threw the sword back towards him and turned to walk away. Mochida just felt rage rush through him again as he grabbed his sword and charged towards Tsuna once again. The brunette had half expected him to try something like this and prepared to defend against him when someone had suddenly interfered.

"Maa maa, you lost already didn't you sempai? So wouldn't it be disgraceful of you to continue after losing?" a taller raven haired boy had grabbed Mochida's wrist and turned towards Tsuna. "Isn't that right, Tsuna?" Tsuna just looked at him in the eyes before turning away.

"I didn't need your help, you know. I could have handled him myself." The boy then walked out of the gym, leaving the crowd behind. "If you know what's good for you, you'd all leave before our dear prefect catches wind of this." Just then, everyone in the room paled as they quickly exited the building until Mochida was left standing there alone. Kyoko heard Hana calling out for her to follow but she just couldn't leave Mochida like how he was and walked over towards him.

"You know sempai, I'm not looking for a relationship like I said earlier but please don't hate Tsuna-kun. He means well." She tried to reason with him. "But he was also right when he said that most people don't like it when others are fighting because of them. It makes us feel responsible for what may happen but I'm just happy that neither of you were hurt." Kyoko tried her best to smile.

"Ah... sorry." Mochida replied, seemingly understanding the words. Kyoko just accepted it and nodded before running off to catch up with her best friend.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna had walked back into the classroom and took his seat once again. He sighed and was satisfied that the fight was over and that he could continue to relax again. That was until he was disrupted by a new voice.

"Yo, Tsuna." A familiar baseball player showed up, standing next to him. "That was a really interesting match you had today, you're really good." The brunette was surprised that the boy had started to talk to him suddenly but he did just as he usually did when someone tried to approach him... brush them off.

"Yamamoto right? It wasn't that great." Tsuna turned away from the other and looked out the window instead.

"No it was great. You really showed up Mochida-sempai. I heard that he's always picking fights with people to show off but I think you really set him straight." The boy grinned and sat in the desk in front of Hana's and on the brunette's right.

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Tsuna gave in and faced the boy.

"'fraid not." He flashed his goofy grin again. It was then that the two girls appeared in the classroom and headed towards them.

"Tsuna-kun... arigato." Tsuna was happy that Kyoko had regained her usual smile but really found no point in her thanking him.

"I actually didn't do that much to be thanked for." Tsuna frowned and leaned on his desk. "Besides, I had my own personal reasons for fighting sempai. They weren't necessarily to help you, you know."

"Omae..." Hana looked to punch the brunette but Kyoko stopped her.

"Still, you helped me out and I'm really grateful for that." That was all Kyoko had to say before pulling Hana away this time.

"Aha, it's just as I thought, you really are interesting, Tsuna." Yamamoto laughed.

"Don't you have other friends that you usually hang out with?" Tsuna asked rather impolitely, still trying to get rid of the boy.

"Yeah but they can do without me. I'd much rather hang out with you for a bit." The raven haired boy explained.

"Well, just don't get your hopes up or anything. I don't like talking very much." Tsuna stared at him long and hard in an attempt to shy or scare him away but it didn't seem to faze the boy in the slightest. 'He sure is odd, isn't he?' Tsuna thought as he ultimately decided to ignore the boy. 'Well, I may be considered as odd by others too, huh?'

"That's fine; I'll talk enough for the both of us." Yamamoto decided himself. "And I really don't think that you fought sempai only for yourself like you told Kyoko. I saw you passing notes to her during class, though I don't know what that was about. All I know is that you made her look happier with each note you passed." Yamamoto smiled. Tsuna just gave the other a quizzical look and tried to examine what he might be thinking but couldn't figure him out exactly.

"You're really observant, aren't you?" Tsuna commented.

"I'd hope so. Otherwise it wouldn't do me any good on the baseball team, aha." Yamamoto replied back, happy that he was actually starting a conversation with the boy. "And you help people more than others think you do. But it's like you do it in a really secret way that no one notices." Now Tsuna became a bit suspicious of what other things Yamamoto might have noticed while he let his guard down. Tsuna had tried to keep others away from him because of what he was involved with in his past life in Italy but for some reason, there were always some people that just wouldn't leave him alone. 'If I'm not careful, I might get Yamamoto involved in something that he'll regret.' Tsuna sighed before he decided on trying to get rid of the boy once and for all.

"You know, if you really know what's good for you, you would leave me alone, Yamamoto. I'm not too fond of other people trying to probe at me or my personal space." Tsuna said threateningly and looked at him sternly. Underneath, however, he felt a bit guilty as he had just started getting friendlier with the raven haired baseball player. Said boy had frowned upon the statement thrown at him suddenly.

"Why are you always like that Tsuna? You don't make many friends acting like that." He tried to persuade the brunette but at the same time, tried not to sound to mean either. "And I already told you that my other friends can do without me if that's what you're worried about. I'd much rather talk with you." Yamamoto seemed to stay put in the seat next to Tsuna's desk.

"Class is going to start up again. If you don't move then what's Iori-kun going to do when he finds you in his seat?" Tsuna challenged.

"Then I'll switch with him for the rest of the day or as long as it takes until you consider us friends." Yamamoto pouted like a child and crossed his arms. Tsuna's challenging expression disappeared as he sighed to himself for the umpteenth time that day.

"Fine, we'll be acquaintances for now, just don't make a habit of causing trouble for other people." Tsuna put a hand to his the left side of his face. The bell then rang and the baseball star stood up with the same goofy grin on his face.

"Alright, but it's only for now. I'll meet with you after class is over." He said before going back towards his own desk which was two rows away from Hana's and one chair back. The desk on his left was the desk that Gokudera was assigned to.

Kyoko just giggled as she watched the exchange between the two. "It's good that Tsuna-kun's making new friends."

"I don't think that's the way Sawada sees it but it was amusing just watching him try so hard to avoid Yamamoto and failing." Hana said. "Well it's not like it worked on you either." Kyoko just sighed and gave a small smile towards her best friend before taking their seats too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Good job, Tsuna." The hitman continued to observe his 'new' student from a distance. "It seems that without even trying, you are gathering family members as we speak." Reborn said as he examined the boy and those around him from a tree with binoculars that Leon had shaped himself into. "But it's still not good, trying to avoid them when they're trying so hard to approach you. You'll need to learn how to have good social skill but I'm sure your family will be more than enough to help you with that. So, all that's left is for me to reteach you about the Dying Will." Reborn's eyes glinted with evil intent as he continued to observe the boy.

"Hmm? You're right Leon..." Reborn said to the chameleon as he shifted back into a lizard. "I have to call the Nono to find out what happened during the years I had been gone."

**Phew I'm done  
****Yaayyy!  
****And I updated in less than a week too  
****Big accomplishment for me  
****But until December, I may not be around so much  
****Finals and essays and midterms again  
****But I'll do my best!  
****Owari desu~**


	4. Target 3: Family Acquired

**Chiwassu~~~~~!  
****I'm suuppperr into Reborn right now  
****Meaning I can't stop watching the Anime, the Concert and rereading the Manga  
****But it ended whaaa~~~  
****(and I'm not really satisfied -.-' I still have a lot of questions not answered)**

**But anyways, I'm like hyped up on it and my reborn playlist is on repeat hahaha  
****I really don't know what's going on but I just have to keep writing  
****Oh well, that's good for you guys I guess right?**

**Saa let's start this chapter, shall we? ^^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR… not in the slightest… no matter how many times I put it on my Christmas list haha**

* * *

Target 3: Family Acquired

Tsuna was walking to school a little later than usual that morning. Yesterday had tired him out completely, especially with the fight against Mochida, Yamamoto suddenly talking with him and then Gokudera was a completely different story. Honestly, Tsuna didn't know what to think as he walked home the day before. He knew that he was being followed by the silverette and could practically feel the cold gazes against his back. 'Only happens to me.' Tsuna thought as he remembered calling out to the other. The silverette didn't respond and made sure to stay put in his spot, as if thinking that Tsuna was bluffing and didn't actually know he was there.

The same thing was happening that very morning. Gokudera was trailing close behind him, eyeing his every move. _"I wonder if Reborn put him up to this." _Thought Tsuna. _"After all, it can't be a complete coincidence that an Italian who had claimed, not directly, that he was a mafiaso had transfered into my class."_ But now that he thought about it, where had Reborn been that morning? Tsuna's mother had told him that Reborn had to leave suddenly for an important business trip but would return the following day.

Now Tsuna was really confused about what Reborn's priorities were. First he said that he would train him to become the Vongola Decimo, but then he disappears for two days and the brunette's told that he had left. Tsuna just shook his head and let these thoughts drift away as he reached the school gates.

There he saw a familiar baseball star, seemingly waiting for something. Tsuna ignored it, thinking that it didn't concern him, until the boy put an arm around his shoulders as he passed. "Yo, Tsuna. Great morning, isn't it?" The raven haired boy smiled and started to walk side by side with the smaller brunette. As they walked towards the building, they were getting stares and people were starting to whisper about them.

"I thought I told you that we'd start out as acquaintances?" Tsuna grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"Yup, but I treat all people like they're my friends. So acquaintances or not, I'd still treat you like this." Yamamoto smiled proudly, making girls around them swoon.

"Yeah, well I'd prefer not to get so much attention when around you." Tsuna pulled his arm off and walked a bit faster, leaving the other behind.

"Hey, come on, Tsuna. Besides, you already have a friend you walk to school with right?" Tsuna had to raise an eyebrow at this as he saw the taller boy point his thumb behind him, towards the entrance. Tsuna then found a certain silverette continually glaring at them. _"Him again..." _Tsuna sweatdropped. _"But this guy seriously is observant. Most people in here didn't notice Gokudera at all."_ The boy thought as he looked around the area before changing his shoes.

Walking towards the classroom, Yamamoto wouldn't stop going on about things that Tsuna really couldn't care less about and eventually drifted back into his own thoughts. _"I just hope this day won't be as tiring as yesterday."_ He then walked towards his desk, forgetting about Yamamoto, this time unintentionally, and sat down.

"Ohayo, Tsuna-kun." Tsuna was greeted by another person.

"Ah, ohayo Kyoko-chan." Was the last thing that the boy had said before going silent until lunch had come.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The lunch bell rang and Tsuna stretched his arms a bit before looking around the classroom. He saw Gokudera, once again being bombarded by girls, Yamamoto almost in the same situation, however they were calmer. Kyoko had taken Hana out of the class. She had told him earlier that she would be going to give her lunch to her brother before she left. Tsuna figured that it was to let him know that he was going to have to eat by himself that day since the two girls would usually stay behind him to keep him company, not that he really needed it. Though secretly, he was grateful that Kyoko had thought so much for him.

Tsuna looked around once more, making sure his two biggest nuisances were still occupied before he rushed out of the room. He decided that a change in atmosphere would be good for him, so he hurried up towards the roof. Rarely had he seen anyone up on the roof so he thought it'd be a good place for him to be by himself.

When he arrived, the boy had taken a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air before settling by the wall on the right of the entrance doorway. He was about to start eating the bento made by his mother when he felt a sudden killing intent and tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. As it grew stronger, Tsuna suddenly whipped his head up and caught sight of the school prefect, Hibari Kyoya.

Tsuna retained his indifferent expression as the prefect jumped from the roof of the entrance to the roof of the school, right in front of Tsuna. "Herbivores shouldn't frolic around on their own." The boy said to the other.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the statement. "And what makes you label people as 'herbivores'?" He questioned. If there was anyone around, they'd just stare wide eyed and gasping at the situation.

"Everyone is an herbivore until proven not to be." Hibari then flashed his tonfas which had come from under his jacket.

"_Well, there goes my peaceful lunch period."_ Tsuna felt regret as he continued to look Hibari in the eye.

"But you seem to have a different scent than a normal herbivore." The brunette could feel the other's killing intent getting stronger and he warily shifted positions on the ground, so as to not alarm the prefect. It felt like dealing with a vicious animal that could attack you at any given moment. Tsuna knew where this was going and decided to try and protect his peaceful lunch.

"Listen, I don't mind being an herbivore if there's no price to pay for it. But if you're so intent on finding a worthy plaything, then I'll have to postpone it to another time. That fine?" Tsuna proposed. Hibari didn't move for a few moments before putting his tonfas down towards his sides. Hibari hadn't really wanted, nor had he thought of having a match with the 'abnormal' herbivore, but he'd also never really dealt with anyone who negotiated to postpone a fight. Usually, if he wanted a fight then he'd just dive in for the kill but he decided different this time.

"I'll deal with you the next time I feel like it." Hibari said and walked towards the door. "I don't like fighting potential prey that's prepared for battle." He said, hinting that he liked surprise attack battles.

"There goes my free time." Tsuna knew that his situation was getting any better at all. He tried to get away from trouble in the classroom but ended up finding something even worse on the roof. Now he'll have to be alert at all times if he wanted to avoid being sent to the hospital. He'd never seen the prefect fight before but he's heard many stories about when the prefect seemingly finds a suitable opponent, and then said person is sent to the hospital soon afterwards.

The brunette really didn't want to be put in that situation but he could clearly see that the prefect was always set on his targets. As the boy continued to go on with his thoughts, he didn't notice that a certain baseball player had come through the door.

"I found you, Tsuna." The boy scared the brunette.

"Y-Yamamoto!" Tsuna voiced his surprise.

"Aha, I knew you could show more expressions other than your regular uninterested look." Yamamoto said and sat next to the boy with his own lunch at hand. "I saw Hibari on my way up, did you talk to him?"

"Something like that, but I wouldn't really call it a conversation." Tsuna seemed to mumble. "How'd you find me up here anyways?"

"I asked a few people and they told me that they saw you coming this way." He explained.

"Why try so hard to find me, you could've seen me later at class. I would've been back before the bell." Tsuna maintained his 'leave me alone' attitude.

"Aha, there you go again. But I really needed to talk with you about something." Yamamoto confessed.

"Why ask me? You have other friends you could talk to and even people who aren't your friends who are willing to listen." Tsuna emphasized on 'willing'.

"Well, you seem like... you would understand more." Yamamoto continued. "The more I see you around, the more... reliable you seem." Tsuna wasn't sure where he got that idea but he remained silent and listened calmly. Yamamoto then commenced in talking about how his grades have been going down and was being threatened into quitting the team if he didn't keep up his current, though not as good, grades. There was also the addition of his skills and stats which have both been lacking and declining, respectively.

"So what should I do, Tsuna? Baseball is my life and if I get kicked out now... I don't know what I'll do." Yamamoto let himself loose and looked like he'd break down and cry right then and there. Tsuna didn't look like he was interested at all but even if it didn't show on his face, he was thinking deeply into the situation and was wondering what the boy was doing wrong to make him suddenly stop preforming well. Tsuna thought of the possible habits that the boy had and what things he might have been doing recently when he'd first realized this decline. Then it hit him. Tsuna let out a sigh before responding.

"I think you should just stop practicing all together. It isn't doing you as much good as you think it is." Tsuna said bluntly, his expression not changing in the slightest. He didn't look at the other, so the brunette didn't know what the ace baseball player looked like right now. There were a few moments of silence before Yamamoto responded.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto said in a low, growling sort of tone, startling the other. "I can't just stop! I told you that baseball is my life and you tell me to stop?!" Yamamoto just blew up in anger suddenly. "So you don't really understand at all, do you? I don't even think you really care!" That one had hurt Tsuna but he didn't show his pain.

"You're the one who doesn't understand the situation. I think the reas..." Tsuna started to explain but Yamamoto immediately cut him off.

"No! I'll show you... don't look down on me just because I'm not as good in recent games. We'll win and then you'll see." Yamamoto stood up and started to walk off.

"Oii, Yamamoto, you don't understand. The reason that you're..." But the door had slammed shut before Tsuna could explain once again. "Baseball must be really important to him." Tsuna tried to relax again before walking back to the class room.

For the rest of the day, Yamamoto had disappeared. He didn't come back to class and everyone looked a bit worried. Tsuna didn't really know what to think but hoped that the boy wasn't doing something that he'd regret. Tsuna was packing up for the day as Kyoko and Hana said their goodbyes. Tsuna just responded quietly as they left. Kyoko looked like she didn't mind but Hana looked like she wanted to bite his head off.

Tsuna left through the back of the school this time, slightly hoping that he'd run into the raven haired sports star. However, he didn't meet up with the person he wanted to. When he rounded the corner, he was met by a certain silverette with sticks that looked an awful lot like dynamite. Tsuna just raised an eyebrow at the other before sighing. Here was another problem that he'd have to deal with.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, you are deemed unworthy of becoming the Vongola Decimo and I challenge you to a duel. Victor gets the right to become the inheritor." Tsuna was surprised by the silverette's bluntness but at least it saved the time of explanations.

"You really get to the point, don't you, Gokudera-kun? But I really don't like fighting you know. On top of that, I haven't trained in a long while." Tsuna said lazily and looked aside, trying to discourage the other.

"That matters not. I will have your head either way." Gokudera then lit his dynamite with the cigarette in his mouth and tossed the bombs towards him. Tsuna just frowned. Tossing his bag to the side, he moved left to dodge. The explosives exploded behind him and Tsuna was about to go in when he saw the boy hold twice as many explosives and tossed them again.

"Double bomb!" the silverette exclaimed.

"So it's really true when they call you Smokin Bomb Hayato." Tsuna stated calmly as the bombs head his way. Tsuna dilated his pupils and took on a more calming expression as he moved. Gokudera just watched wide eyed as the boy seemingly moved and maneuvered slowly around each bomb as he defused them by putting out and cutting off the spark. Each bomb fell one by one until they were all scattered on the ground.

"Che, I'm not done yet." Gokudera took out thrice as many bombs, all lit. But he had suddenly dropped one which caused him to loosen his grip on all the others, scattering them around him. "T-this... is the end of me." The boy carried a sullen expression, until he felt a breeze flow by him.

Gokudera looked towards the ground and each bomb that he'd dropped had all been defused. "Phew, I made it in time." The bomber turned around and saw Tsuna wiping his forehead and dropped the last bomb. "And smoking is a nasty habit. You should really quit." Tsuna smiled almost sincerely over his shoulder as Gokudera realized that his cigarette was out as well. The boy had caught the tiny smile and tears welled up in his eyes.

"I am humbly sorry!" He exclaimed, causing the other to freeze in his steps and turned back to see the boy in a dogeza bowing form and continually slamming his head on the ground. "I should have realized Juudaime's greatness. I was merely seeing if you were truly worthy of being the inheritor, for I had heard that the successor to the Vongola was the same age as I. Please forgive my disrespect!"

"N-Ne..." Tsuna didn't know how to respond to this and felt a twitch in his eye. "Gokudera-kun, you don't have to do something like that. And there's nothing for me to forgive either. I might've done the same if I found out something like that too, so don't let it bother you too much."

"Demo, Juudaime saved my life. I must now offer my eternal loyalty. I'll serve under you forever, command me as you wish!" Gokudera said proudly, sitting straight on his legs, not moving to stand up.

"I'm not becoming the Decimo." Tsuna corrected clearly.

"But no one else but Tsuna-sama is qualified." Tsuna just groaned as another pain decided to stay by his side.

"How about we just stick to being classmates?" Tsuna suggested as he started to walk away. "That way, it'll make it easier for the both of us." Though the brunette really meant that it make it easier on himself.

"Absolutely not." Gokudera growled dangerously. Tsuna felt his eye twitch grow with the addition of his forehead vein throbbing. _"What kind of situation is this?" _Tsuna was really getting annoyed at the fact that there were more and more people who were trying to worm their way into his life.

"I will follow Juudaime till the day that I die." Gokudera proclaimed. "I will protect Juudaime and will not allow anything that will put Juudaime in harm's way." He was really putting the term 'Juudaime' into overkill as he announced his thoughts.

"_Then what do you make of me joining the mafia?"_ Tsuna thought sarcastically as the boy's statement seemed to be contradicting in so many ways.

"So you're not going to leave me alone either, are you?" Tsuna regretted asking and dreaded over the answer that he was expecting to get.

"Over my dead body, will I stop following Juudaime." There it was. The brunette just hung his head and trudged home.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Juudaime!" Gokudera waved as the brunette left.

"_He dropped my name so easily..."_ Was the last thought Tsuna had on the situation.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning, Tsuna was even more tired and more annoyed, even with the absence of Reborn. That reminded the boy that said 'tutor' was returning home that day, but he'd never stated when. After eating with his mother, he said his goodbyes and left the house. When he reached the outside gate of his house, he found Gokudera waiting for him.

"Ohayo, Juudaime!" Tsuna winced at the boy's volume.

"Gokudera-kun, what are you doing here?" Tsuna questioned, genuinely puzzled by the situation.

"It is normal for me to accompany the man I swore my loyalty to, to school." The brunette didn't want to argue with the other boy this early and just let it drop. He knew from experience that he couldn't drive away the people who wanted to stay near him, no matter how much he tried.

But if he thought about it, maybe it was just selfishness on his part.

He had been alone and had been properly conversing only with his mother in the past few years. So he might have been unconsciously trying to keep those people, whom have all tried so hard to get near him, as close to him as possible. Although, he knew that it would only result in them getting roped into a dark future alongside him, and he didn't want that to happen to anyone around him ever again.

He wanted to keep them from harm as much as possible, but it wouldn't be possible if they were seen to have a deep connection with him. So, he tried as hard as he could to keep people away from him but once again, he couldn't win against his subconscious actions because he wasn't aware of them.

"Juudaime, we're almost at school." Gokudera said to the smaller boy who snapped out of his thoughts.

"Ah." Tsuna said in an uncaring tone and looked ahead, seeing many people crowding around the school gates and heard even more people in the front courtyard. _"Hibari-san isn't going to like this."_ Tsuna thought about what the prefect would do to the crowding 'herbivores' as he'd put it the day before. As the two drew closer towards the entrance, two familiar faces were seen as one of the two females ran towards the pair.

"Tsuna-kun." Kyoko had fear and worry in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Kyoko-chan?" Tsuna forgot about their usual morning greetings. Kyoko looked like she wanted to burst out the situation but couldn't formulate any words.

"Out with it, woman!" Gokudera exclaimed, only frightening the orange haired girl even further.

"Hey, don't talk to her that way!" The other girl, Hana had run over. "Just come here." She grabbed Tsuna's arm and dragged him towards the wide entrance. Tsuna looked around and saw many students looking up and pointed. He followed their direction and instantly spotted the same raven haired ace that had disappeared the day before. But what he saw was him standing on the ledge of the roof, with an arm in a sling.

"What happened to him?" Tsuna asked, his voice quiet and soft.

"I heard that he was training yesterday but worked himself too hard to the point of almost breaking his shoulder." Hana said since Kyoko looked like she couldn't say anything at the moment. "Now he can't play in the big game today and there's a high risk of our team losing. So I guess he's blaming himself over it. But if you ask me, he's making a mountain out of a mole hill of the situation." Hana said in her 'I can't stand monkeys' tone but still clearly worried as well.

"So that idiot's threatening to kill himself over a stupid game?!" Gokudera exclaimed in disgust. Hana and Kyoko paused for a second, wondering why he had been walking with Tsuna that morning.

Tsuna, on the other hand, hadn't felt this much dread or fear since he was younger. Hana's words replayed in his mind as he thought of the various ways he could have prevented this situation. His head was spinning with familiar mixed feelings and this reminder had triggered various flashes to cross his mind... reminding him of the same feeling of fear and pain as back then.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_-Flashback-_

_Tsuna POV_

'_It's dark... cold... where am I?' I looked around groggily in hopes of trying to find out where exactly this place was. But there was no light to help identify anything; all I knew was that I was sprawled across the floor. The cool cement floor was freezing my sense of feeling. However, I then realized that I wasn't here alone as two other persons made their presence known. _

"_Hey, the other brat's awake!" a raspy voice called out. I felt fear shoot through me as I, for some reason that I hadn't been aware of or hadn't remembered, suddenly tried desperately to get away from the voice. I then realized that there was another body close to mine, lying, unmoving. In a flash, I remembered the man saying 'other brat' and realized who this other boy was. I closed my eyes, trying to block the view of this boy from my sight, the feeling of betrayal taking over my mind._

"_W-who a-re you?" I questioned rather shakily while trying to supress the pain that I now felt racking my entire body. I heard the other man just laugh out loud, or more like cackled before grabbing a fist full of my hair and yanked me from the ground, suspending me in the air. _

"_Gahh!" I let out a cry of pain, not caring that I showed weakness._

"_Any clue what the kid said?" I heard the one who held me speak in Italian. I must've spoken in Japanese unconsciously. _

"_No idea, but who cares, he's only here as a ransom. But we'll sell him later anyways, if they don't agree with our demands. Either way, we'll have big bucks coming in." I raised my question again, in the correct language this time, after the man had finished speaking. They both turned to me in surprise before I saw almost psychotic grins form on their faces. The man then dropped me hard on the ground before the other came close to my face and gripped my chin in his cold, rough hands. I felt fear course throughout my body as it shivered violently; allowing me to forget the pain. I could feel his gaze piercing through me as he looked into my eyes._

"_He's worth more than I thought possible, despite being a 7 year old brat." I saw greed fill his eyes. _

"_On top of that, he's cute. That'll earn even more bucks." The other came by and suddenly licked my ear, sending chills down my back. I don't know why he did that but, if possible, it made me even more terrified of the pair. I fidgeted in the man's grip but he wouldn't let go and I felt tears forming in my eyes. _

_End Tsuna POV_

_-End Flashback-_

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

"Ts...un... Ts...a-ku..."

"...uu...ime! Juu... me!"

"Ts... kun! Tsuna-kun!" Tsuna snapped out of his daze as he saw Kyoko looking at him worriedly.

"W-what's wrong?" He stuttered unconsciously, taking note of his shaky voice.

"A-are you okay?" Kyoko seemed even more worried than before. Hana beside her seemed to be in the same way, though she only casted him side glances. As they were talking, Tsuna had suddenly tuned them out and then started shaking uncontrollably. Kyoko and the silver haired monkey had called out to him many times but he didn't respond until after almost five minutes.

"Of course, w...hy do.. you ask?" he tried to control his tone of voice but they could see his facial façade cracking as he tried to give them a hard look; though he averted his eyes in the end.

"You're shaking." She said. Tsuna was surprised as he looked at his hand and had proven what the orange haired girl had said to be true. His hand was quivering and he couldn't make it stop.

"Juudaime..." Gokudera also looked at him worriedly from over the brunette's shoulder. Kyoko and Hana had found themselves wondering again on when and more importantly, why the silverette suddenly started taking a liking towards the unsociable brunette but put that aside for later, when they didn't have the matter of Yamamoto or the shaking brunette to worry about.

"Forget that, you have more important matters to attend to Dame-Tsuna." A voice familiar only to the two boys was heard. The four teens looked around them, trying to find the source of the voice but it wasn't until a baby had found his way on top of Tsuna's head that they found him.

"Reborn!" Tsuna sounded surprised that the baby hitman had come home so fast.

"Reborn-san!" Gokudera exclaimed with an equally surprised voice.

"A baby?" Kyoko was just curious as to where he had come from.

"Gah! Get away, shoo!" Hana cried as she hid behind Kyoko and avoid contact with the hitman.

"Get a move on, Dame-Tsuna, before a precious family member is lost forever." The brunette didn't really feel like he could do it but if he didn't, then he knew that Reborn would punish him pretty harshly later on. So he didn't really have much of a choice.

Tsuna, forgetting his quivering, ran towards the roof with the other three following behind him. Reborn had disappeared once they entered the school but no one thought of that as they raced up the stairs. The girls lagged behind as the two boys sped up but they paid no mind as saving Yamamoto came first. Upon reaching the roof, the two boys were met with many people trying to convince Yamamoto not to jump but no one had succeeded.

"I'm sorry, minna. But there's no other way." Yamamoto said as he looked down towards the ground.

"There's always another way." The suicidal raven haired boy froze and turned around, recognizing the voice. The crowd had parted as Tsuna walked towards the baseball player. The crowd then bursted into conversation as they wondered why Dame-Tsuna suddenly wanted to help someone when he'd normally ignore any and all situations, no matter how bad. Yamamoto took a good look at the brunette's expression and instead of seeing the usual indifferent and uncaring expression; he saw a hard, worried one.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me, Tsuna. I've ruined any chance I've had at proving you wrong. You saying that I should stop playing really killed me inside. I told you that baseball was my life and you tell me to quit!" Yamamoto exclaimed. Everyone was speechless when he said that. "But it's not like you really cared much for anything, have you? You always look like you aren't interested in anything yet you're really good at whatever you do. Being good at things that don't interest you must be tough." Yamamoto said sarcastically.

"Don't twist words or facts!" Tsuna exclaimed back to his face. The crowd was equally speechless by the statement. "And don't make them up either." Tsuna said this part under his breath, only loud enough for him and Yamamoto to hear.

Tsuna commenced on his persuasion. "I told you that you didn't understand your own situation but you didn't listen and walked away. I didn't say that you should stop playing. I told you that you should stop practicing because you didn't realize that you were wearing yourself out." This really surprised Yamamoto. He, in fact, didn't realize that his body would give out since it's never done so in the past. This was also what the doctor had told him when he got examined.

"Also," Tsuna continued. "you shouldn't go killing yourself off over something so trivial."

"Trivial?!" Yamamoto was feeling his anger coming back. "Me failing at the sport I love is worse that dying! How can you possibly understand when you don't know–?"

"What do you know about me? We've only really met two days ago." Tsuna abruptly cut him off. "And there are far worse things than dying. If you die right here and now, then all that effort that you've put into this sport, the one you devoted your life to, would all be for nothing. You'd be throwing it all away as if it were useless trash. All of that, plus killing yourself off selfishly? Your thinking, that your death won't matter to anyone, is the worst possible thing you can do to someone. It matters, even if there's only one person who cares, it matters! So, don't treat life so lightly!" Tsuna exclaimed. Tsuna didn't know when he had started walking up towards Yamamoto or even when he had been staring at the other in the face as he gripped the front of his shirt.

"Juudaime..." Gokudera felt the heaviness of each word as his boss spoke. Yamamoto was just feeling the impact of each blow as the brunette continued to attack him verbally. Kyoko and Hana, both out of breath, finally arrived on the scene only to feel the heaviness in the air. They both caught sight of everyone gaping at the brunette as he spoke to Yamamoto who was also too shocked to say anything.

Tsuna just wavered a bit, hiding his eyes to avoid his feelings from spilling out any further. He turned away and was about to walk away when Yamamoto grabbed his arm.

"Tsuna wait." Yamamoto regained his soft look and tried to pull the brunette back but said brunette just flinched in panic and accidently threw the other off balance. Many girls screamed as Yamamoto's weight gave out from underneath him and he fell over the edge of the building. Tsuna just stared, wide eyed, unable to move.

"I guess it's finally time to do something with your dying will, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn said as he watched from the top of the entrance and shot his student with a Dying Will Bullet. Many students flinched when they heard the firing of a bullet but they all looked around, now thinking that they'd all been hearing things. What they didn't notice was Tsuna getting hit in the back of the head.

The force caused the boy to bend over but not collapse, much to Reborn's surprise. But on top of that, the boy was able to control the Dying Will and had somehow by passed the effect of his clothes disintegrating. This then led the baby hitman to believe that his student had entered Hyper Dying Will Mode.

Tsuna slowly stood up straight, his eyes orange and dilated, and a flame appearing on his head. He looked at Yamamoto who was falling and he instantly jumped over the edge.

"Tsuna-kun!"

"Sawada!"

The boy's friends cried as they rushed over towards the edge, Gokudera just ran through the roof entrance and down the stairs. Many more screams were being heard as the brunette grabbed the Yamamoto's good arm and then he used his other hand to grab the edge of a third floor window. "Tsuna..." Yamamoto looked up at the boy who was focusing on something else.

"Hey Sawada, we'll pull you up." The window, near the ledge that Tsuna was holding, opened up and a few boys came out to help them up. Tsuna didn't say anything as they grabbed his arm and slowly pulled him up along with Yamamoto. The flame that once was on the brunette's forehead had dispersed as the boys pulled them in. Tsuna panted as Yamamoto was finally hauled in the room.

"Man, Yamamoto, you're seriously messed up. To think that you'd fall off like that." One of the guys said.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack." Another placed a hand on his chest.

"But who would've thought Dame-Tsuna would be the one to save you and all. I thought he wouldn't care about what happened to you at all." A third commented.

"Don't talk about people as if they aren't here." Tsuna stood up wearily, giving them a seemingly cold glare and walked away from the class.

"Y-Yeah, that's not very nice." Yamamoto agreed with the departed boy. "But thanks for saving us and I'm sorry for having worried all of you." Yamamoto stood up and ran after the brunette, leaving the three boys stunned. They all shrugged and rested for a moment as well.

Yamamoto walked through the door and looked down the hall to find Tsuna but to his surprise, Tsuna had collapsed. "Tsuna!" Yamamoto exclaimed as he knelt down beside the boy.

"Juudaime!" Yamamoto heard someone call out as heavy footstep came down the hall. The raven haired baseball player looked up to see a silverette making his way towards them, which made Yamamoto wonder who he was looking for.

"Yakyuu-baka! What did you do to Juudaime?!" Gokudera exclaimed as he knelt beside Tsuna right when he reached them.

"He just collapsed." Yamamoto explained.

"No worries." A voice rung out, the baby hitman then made his appearance again and looked at them. "He just overexerted himself. He'll be fine tomorrow." With that said, the two visibly relaxed. Reborn looked at the pair of them and he was happy with the members that his student selected. If he had been around, he most likely would have chosen them himself but there were more important things to consider, like the fact that Tsuna, after not having been exposed to the Dying Will Bullet after so long, was able to control it and enter Hyper Dying Will Mode to boot.

"So who is this little kid? Tsuna's little brother?" Yamamoto questioned.

"Yakyuu-baka, this is Reborn-san!" Gokudera growled.

"Ciaossu," The baby interrupted. "I'm Tsuna's home tutor but you two should bring him back home. I'll explain to mama what happened."

"Hai, Reborn-san." Gokudera complied immediately. Yamamoto just laughed at Gokudera's quick changing attitude and decided to help despite Gokudera exclaiming that he could take care of Tsuna himself. The boy just smiled genuinely and still put one of Tsuna's arms around his shoulder while the silverette took the other.

As the two left, Reborn just gave a deep sigh. He couldn't believe that all of this happened before school had even been called into session. Just what had the teachers been doing at this time to not notice the student crisis outside? He decided to deal with that later as he needed to tell mama what 'happened' at school first.

"Ikuzo, Leon." Reborn said to his chameleon as he entered his hideaway.

**Yayyy! Long chapter for you guys  
****Hope you enjoyed it  
****Though I packed a lot of things in there  
****Hope it's still alright hehe  
****But just a quick note… that was only a very small fraction of the past  
****There's still more to come ^^**

**Well, I'll leave you at that  
****Owari desu~**

updated: 09/11/2012


	5. Target 4: Afternoon Complications

**Chiwassu~~~~~  
****Soshite… Tadaimaaaa hahaha  
****Thanks for the support guys  
****I really appreciate it all  
****But you know, I've been doing more research for this story  
****Than I have been for my essays haha (not good)**

**Also I just wanted to give a brief (and very vague) timeline:  
****Just to help with the confusion stuff that may possibly be present with the time frame**

3 going 4 years old – Tsuna and Reborn meet  
6 years old – Reborn disappears completely from the mansion  
9 years old – leaves Italy (summer – and meets Kyoko/Ryohei)  
(same year enters 4th grade at Namimori Elementary)  
12 years old – enters Namimori Middle School  
13 years old – second year (present time) reunites with Reborn  
(8 year separation)

**Hope this helps a bit…  
****Now we start!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn… WHHHYYYYY! gahhh! Frustration… although, I'd probably just screw up the storyline haha**

* * *

Target 4: Afternoon Complications

"_Why... why are you doing this?" The brunette asked the other as he stared at him teary eyed, as he was surrounded by many men dressed in black and armed._

"_I-I-I'm s-s-sorrry." The other boy cried as he looked down, avoiding the brunette's pleading gaze. "I-I'm not w-who I-I s-said I was. I'm n-not who I s-said I-I am..." He confessed as he looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment._

"_But... we're friends aren't we?" He looked at him, hoping to get the answer he sought. The other just shook his head slowly as he was also grabbed harshly by surrounding men. He looked at them, startled and with a horrific fear in his eyes. "NO! Let him go!" The brunette exclaimed as he heard the other boy yell in pain. Soon after, the brunette was also restrained by a man who gripped his arms tightly behind his back. _

"_Please... please" The boy struggled against the man despite knowing that it would prove useless. "...leave him alone!" The boy's fighting was growing weak as he begged the men around him. _

"_Shut up brat." One of his captors spat as the boy abruptly looked up to see the man throw a fist toward his face. _

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna woke up startled as he sat up panting. His hands trembled as he tightly gripped his bed sheets. He looked around for a moment and found himself to be in his own room, he was also wearing his school uniform. The funny thing was that he didn't remember going to school that day or even remembered when he fell asleep at all.

"So, you're awake." A high pitched voice said to the brunette. Tsuna looked towards the source and found the baby hitman.

"Reborn." Tsuna breathed, not hiding his fear filled eyes, letting his indifferent personality slip away as he plopped back into his pillow. He let out a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"Bad dream?" Reborn asked him calmly, not mentioning the sudden break in the boy's character. Tsuna didn't answer, ignoring the question. _'At least his stubborn attitude is still intact.'_ Thought Reborn as he jumped on the bed beside the boy.

"What time is it?" Tsuna murmured.

"About 2 in the afternoon. Mama went out to buy medicine for muscle pains just in case." Reborn explained.

"Oh I see... so I guess you made an excuse for what happened today." Tsuna looked at the baby.

"Of course but you'll have to make up for what you missed in class." Reborn said, annoying the brunette. _'That's the only thing he cares about?'_ Tsuna thought sarcastically as he then turned to face away from the baby hitman.

"So you what happened to Yamamoto?" Tsuna questioned, half expecting an answer.

"He's fine and I sent him and Gokudera back to school after they brought you home. Those two wanted to stay but Yamamoto missed enough school and Gokudera would just be a nuisance if he stayed." The boy had thought about that for a moment and decided that Reborn was right. Gokudera, ever since he pledged his allegiance to him, was as clingy as ever. Tsuna picked that up the moment he had spotted the silverette outside his house, waiting for him. As for Yamamoto, if his grades were bad enough to get kicked off the team, then it was good judgement to send him back.

Tsuna then sat up after thinking for a while and looked at Reborn. "Ne Reborn, how do you know Gokudera? He seemed really familiar with you back at school." Tsuna said in a softer tone and looked at the hitman with familiar, curiosity filled eyes, replacing the usual disinterested and judging look. Reborn was a bit surprised with the expression but answered anyways; not before taking note of this sudden change in personality.

"I'm sure you figured it out by now but Gokudera was born into the mafia world. He was, however, rejected by many as 'half breeds' weren't accepted as often as those with a full heritage. It also didn't help that he used to play the piano so many thought of him as a mere musician than a mafiaso. I, of course, was the one who suggested that he come join our family but he had come sooner than I had expected. But that's to be expected by a wild boy such as himself." Tsuna nodded in understanding, giving a small smile as he was happy to have learned something about the boy other than the fact that he was mafia.

"So that aside, what happened to your detestable personality." Reborn questioned. Tsuna then realized that he had unconsciously dropped his current 'identity' and just stared at the baby, unsure of what to say. "No need to say anything. I already heard what had happened from the Nono..." Tsuna paled instantly, wondering what Reborn had learned when he went on his 'business trip' to Italy. "but he only told me what he wanted me to hear. He then said to ask you about the details."

Reborn saw that Tsuna hesitated as he gripped the bed sheets tightly. Soon, Tsuna's started to become short of breath as he tried to focus his mind and was perspiring slightly. The boy then gulped before he opened his mouth to start talking when there was a sudden crash out of his window. The pair looked towards the opening and found a baby with an afro and dressed as a cow.

"D-Dare da omae..." Tsuna sweatdropped and instinctively adopted his unfriendly personality as he narrowed his eyes at the infant.

"Ore wa Lambo-san gyahahahaha. I'm here to kill you Reborn!" The infant cackled.

"Is this kid for real?" Tsuna tilted his head to the left as he looked at the kid in disbelief.

"I almost got an answer out of him and yet..." Reborn mumbled to himself. Tsuna just wondered what the hitman had said but then decided that it was better to forget it. But it wasn't until the suited infant cocked his Leon gun towards the other baby.

"Ch-Chotto, what are you doing, Reborn?! He's just a kid!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"And he's sticking his nose into business where it doesn't belong." The brunette could tell that Reborn was pretty pissed off right now. He guessed that it was because as he was in shock, he was about to give the infant the information that the infant sought. However, it wasn't until Lambo had entered that Tsuna recovered from his shock, regained his lost cover and was now able to defy whatever Reborn was asking of him again.

"Just leave him alone, he doesn't know what he's doing." Tsuna moved to get out of bed but cringed a bit at the slight pain he was feeling. He just pushed through it and moved towards the cow baby. "Ja, what are you doing trying to kill Reborn? Actually, how do you know Reborn at all?" Tsuna questioned.

"Gyahaha, Lambo-san is a 5 year old assassin and was sent by the boss to assassinate Reborn. I like grapes and candy!"

"So he's in the mafia at this age?" Tsuna turned towards Reborn who still didn't lower his own gun.

"Are you surprised? You started when you were three." Tsuna just hardened his gaze as he looked at Reborn. He knew that he had been involved in the mafia since he was three but it wasn't his choice. It was decided for him and he couldn't say no because he was a child then.

"Well that's still no excuse to give him guns and grenades. What good will those do?" Tsuna tried to justify his case.

"It allows him to protect himself when trouble that may overpower him comes. I'm sure you know better than anyone else what could happen when even children aren't properly prepared." Reborn looked coldly as he spoke. Tsuna felt his quivering come back but instantly brushed it off, trying not to go back to his weak state of mind.

"What if he blows himself up? What good will weapons do then?" The brunette crossed his arms and dared Reborn to answer.

"Of course, that's why you must discipline and train them thoroughly." Reborn justified.

"Yeah, because that goes sooo well." Tsuna rolled his eyes and looked at Lambo. Reborn, of course, caught the implication but didn't say anything. "So how bout you go home Lambo? I'm sure it'll be better for you if you just leave."

"Yadda!" Lambo cried and threw a grenade towards Reborn. The infant just shook his head as Leon shape shifted into a bat and he instantly whacked it back towards the cow with ease. The grenade had thwacked his head and he was sent flying out the window. Tsuna sweatdropped as he watched the poor Bovino explode in the air.

"That was a little harsh, wasn't it?" Tsuna frowned.

"Meh, he'll be fine." Reborn justified.

"That's still no excuse. He's still a kid after all." Tsuna looked out the window and found the boy to be laying in the yard.

"Must... stay... calm..." Lambo cried as he struggled to stand up again.

"At least he's still in one piece." Tsuna sighed. Then, he noticed that Lambo got up, and walked towards his front door. "That's not good."

Lambo rang the doorbell and when no one answered, he threatened to blow it down. Tsuna twitched and was about to run downstairs when he heard his mother's voice. "Ara, are you a friend of Reborn-chan?"

"Mama's home." Reborn said as the pair outside started to chat a bit.

"Ah Lambo-chan is cute." Nana smiled as Lambo went on and on about being a mafiaso. Tsuna was just glad that his mom thought it was a child's game that he was playing with Reborn. He still wasn't entirely sure if she realizes that this is the same Reborn she met 10 years ago and not a baby who coincidentally looks like him and has the same name.

Just then, Tsuna picked up someone else's presence in the house and looked towards the door. He ran out and down the stairs but instantly covered his mouth with his sleeve as he headed down. The air around was filled with toxins and with that in mind, he had an idea of who might this person be; the hint was that the source was emitting from the kitchen. _'There's only one person I know that could make poison just by touching food.'_ Tsuna thought as he rushed to air out the house before his mother walked in.

Once that was done, he ran to the kitchen where he found Reborn sitting calmly while a woman sat across him. "Reborn..." Tsuna said getting the attention of the two. "Is that...?"

"Poison Scorpion Bianchi." He said.

"What's she doing in our house?" Tsuna felt every nerve in his face twitch.

"She came from Italy." Reborn said as if he had already justified her presence.

"But what's she doing _here_?" Tsuna repeated, clearly annoyed that people were invading their house.

"Ara, Tsu-kun, daijobou?" Nana asked her son immediately as she walked through the door. The brunette turned around and looked at his mother who had a plastic bag full of items in one hand and was carrying a sniffling Lambo in the other.

"Hai, okaeri okaa-san." He tried to soften up his expression as he faced her. He didn't like showing his mom his other, less pleasant self so he had gotten used to loosening up at home. But now with Reborn here and bringing many other 'guests' with him, it was hard not showing his mom his cover self and maintaining this persona in front of other people. That would most likely explain why he had suddenly dropped his persona in front of Reborn, though the boy didn't make the connection until just then.

"Are you sure you're alright, Tsu-kun? Reborn-chan told me that you fell down a flight of stairs." Nana cast him a worried glance.

"Reborn..." Tsuna turned and glared at the infant.

"Oh that's horrible." Bianchi commented. "I'm glad your face didn't fall into a poison filled pie."

'_What kind of relief statement is that?'_ The brunette felt like he could feel his brain turning to mush, just listening to this bunch.

"Juudaime!"

'_And speaking of uninvited guests in the household.'_ Tsuna groaned when from behind his mother, appeared his self-proclaimed servant for life.

"Juudaime, daijoubu desu ka? I rushed here right after school."

'_Was school over already?'_ Tsuna then realized that the hour had disappeared and it really was time for school to be let up.

"Well, I'm alright as you can see. So you don't have to stick around." Tsuna said in a monotone fashion.

"Is this one of Tsu-kun's friends?" Nana smiled at the silverette. "Welcome to our home! My we have many guests over today." She said a bit absentmindedly. Tsuna noted that his mother actually liked having many people over, even though she had no idea who most of them were.

"Thank you for inviting me in, Sawada-san!" Gokudera bowed immediately before entering.

"So polite but you may call me Nana." Nana laughed as she closed the door. Bianchi then stood up from her chair and walked over towards the group gathered by the door. She seemed to have stars in her eyes as she walked over.

"Hayato, you're here." Bianchi said in an affectionate tone but Gokudera didn't look happy to see the woman at all. "Give nee-san a hug." She motioned towards him with open arms.

"W-What a-a-are y-you d-doing here... aneki!" Gokudera managed to say before he gripped his throat and collapsed on the ground, convulsing and gurgling. Tsuna and Nana just watched the boy as he collapsed, both unsure of what to do.

"He's so shy." Bianchi blushed and put a hand to her cheek.

"I don't think that's it." Tsuna sighed and kneeled next to the boy. "Oi, Gokudera-kun, daijoubu? Ne, Reborn, do you know what's wrong with him?" He asked the hitman that was in the kitchen.

"He'll tell you when he wakes up. Just put him on the couch, he'll wake up on his own." The hitman instructed as if it were a common thing. Tsuna didn't mind that part and just did what was instructed before heading back into the kitchen. His mother was putting away the things that she had bought and seemed to be off in her own world, so Tsuna thought it be a good time to bring up his question again.

"Ja, you still haven't told me what is Bianchi doing here, Reborn?" Tsuna said straightforwardly.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" The two then turned towards the woman who now had a nasty expression on her face as she looked at Tsuna, making him wonder if he had done something to offend her or anything.

"_I came here to assassinate the Decimo."_ She explained in Italian, being wary of the presence of Nana.

"_Well, that would explain the cloud of toxin from earlier but wouldn't that be treason against the family? And on top of that, you're also putting innocent people at risk_." Tsuna pointed out back in Italian. She didn't listen to him however, as she pulled out two platters of poison cooking form her back. _'This would make it the second assassination attempt today.' _Tsuna then looked over towards Lambo who was happily helping his mother.

"_You are the reason why Reborn is bound to this country and won't come back with me no matter how many times I ask. So the only way I can free him is to kill the reason that's binding him here."_ Tsuna knew that this was a dangerous situation but he couldn't put his mother at risk. So he ran out the door after grabbing his shoes.

"Okaa-san, we're going out for a bit!" Tsuna called out as he was halfway through the door with Bianchi on his trail.

"Just be back by dinner time!" She replied. "Saa, Lambo-kun, want to help mama bake some cookies?"

"Yeah, Lambo-san want cookies!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tsuna ran as Bianchi threw poisonous dish after dish. He sort of felt bad that the bushes and sidewalks were getting disintegrated but it was better those than him. "Dame-Tsuna, how are you going to stop her if you just run away." Reborn said to the boy from the top of his head. Tsuna had just realized that the baby had situated himself on the brunette's head but didn't ponder much on the thought as he was too focused on going down blocks where there wasn't a single person.

"Then how do I stop her?" Tsuna huffed.

"Die."

"That'll only solve Bianchi's problem but it won't solve anything for me!"

"So selfish..." Reborn teased.

"Gahh, you're no help!" Tsuna exclaimed and swiftly rounded the corner on his next left, trying to gain speed by pivoting on his toes so as to lose the female poison machine. Although, as he pushed off his foot, he instantly collided with someone else and fell backwards.

"Itaii-desu. Haru got knocked over again." Tsuna recovered from the impact and looked ahead to find a dark brown haired girl. Then he turned towards the direction from which he came and found Bianchi charging towards him.

"Come on, I'll explain later." The brunette grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her along with him.

"What are you doing, let go! Haru has a mission!" The girl, now known as Haru as Tsuna picked the name up after hearing it a second time, struggled against him.

"Not now, it's dangerous." Tsuna tried to clam her up but she just continued fighting him.

"I must find a baby! He ran away desu!" She pouted. "And I promised to meet up with someone that is helping Haru search, right now." She then noticed Reborn who sat on top of the brunette's head and immediately complained that it wasn't safe for him to carry a child on his head.

"I told you I'll have to explain later but just keep running." The boy sighed inwardly but was suddenly pulled back as Haru had suddenly tripped.

"Hagi!" She squeaked as the both fell down. Tsuna took a quick look back and Bianchi was charging towards them, preparing to throw her platter at hand.

"Duck!" Tsuna ducked her head towards the ground and watched as the dish flew over them and hit the metal telephone pole. Haru watched as it disintegrated and felt her blood run cold.

"D-Dangerous desu..." She breathed, now with fear in her voice.

"That's what I'm saying, now come on!" Tsuna pulled her up again and they began running again, swerving between neighbourhoods and alleyways until they ended up at the edge of a park that rested by a flowing river, where they felt certain that they had lost the Italian female. The area was fenced at the ledge so as to prevent visitors from falling down towards the rush water but there were also benches around the cleared area. Now that they've calmed down, Tsuna plopped down on one of the benches that was only a few feet away from the railing, facing the river and Reborn jumped off his head, sitting beside him.

"Haa~ we finally lost her." Tsuna said in an annoyed tone.

"Dame-Tsuna, we could have just solved the problem if you had just died." Reborn said again and brought up Leon who transformed into a gun.

"I don't like getting hit by the Dyi–" But Tsuna was immediately cut off by the brunette girl.

"Hagi! Who gives children guns to play with?! Irresponsible desu! What are you teaching him? You are corrupting the innocent mind of an innocent youth." She lectured him. Tsuna, however, paid no mind to her and just ignored her speech. Haru noticed this and puffed up her cheeks in anger.

"You are the worst human being ever! Haru will take this child if you continue to corrupt his pure heart!"

"You don't understanding our situation, so you shouldn't butt into other people's business. And weren't you supposed to be meeting someone else?" Tsuna drew attention away from himself and threw it towards whoever this person who decided to help her was. Haru remembered and then said that they were actually supposed to meet up in that same park.

"That's great, now go find him." Tsuna slouched.

"Baka-Tsuna, how are you supposed to be the boss of the mafia with that sort of attitude?" The brunette suddenly cringed as he realized what the baby hitman had just said.

"O-Oi Reborn!" Tsuna clenched his teeth at his tutor but Haru was already glaring daggers at him.

"What's with this mafia desu? You're a bad influence! And you got Reborn-chan involved in your delinquent antics!"

'_She thinks I'm a delinquent?' _Tsuna sweatdropped. _'If she thinks that, then she should never, ever meet Gokudera-kun. That would push her over the edge.'_

"That's the last straw desu; I'm taking Reborn-chan with me." Haru motioned to pick up the infant.

"You shouldn't touch me so easily." Reborn said and flashed his gun at her.

"Wait, Reborn she's just a–"

"Yo, Tsuna!" The three of them paused in their 'conversation' and looked towards the voice.

"Yamamoto, what are you doing here?" Tsuna raised an eyebrow at him, then suddenly remembered what had happened that morning. "Are you alright?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm great thanks to you."

"You know each other desu?" Haru pointed to the two boys.

"Yeah, we go to the same school and I wouldn't even be here right now if it were for him." Yamamoto put his good arm around Tsuna's shoulders and leaned over the bench.

"How do you know him?" Tsuna questioned Haru.

"I accidentally ran into her when I was chasing after Gokudera. He left class early, saying something about going to see you. I wanted to come too so I followed him but he then started to pick up the pace and I lost him. Then I bumped into Haru after turning a corner. She explained that a little boy that she was taking care of had run away. I decided to help out but her description of the kid was really weird."

"What does he look like?" Reborn asked.

"He has a big afro and is dressed up like a cow. He even has two cute horns in his afro but he carries many toys that look like weapons. What kind of human being gives a child weapons?" She then returned her glare back to the brunette. Tsuna wasn't fazed by it however.

"Wait, he has an afro and looks like a cow?" Tsuna questioned.

"Hai." Haru responded, not taking her eyes off of him.

"Is it by any chance, Lambo?" Tsuna dreaded the coming answer.

"You know him, Tsuna?" Yamamoto looked happy that they had found the boy.

"He showed up at my house today. I think he's baking with Okaa-san right now." He shrugged.

"I should have known he was related to you desu!" Haru exploded in anger that even Tsuna was taken aback by the aura she emitted.

"Like I said, I don't know him. He just showed up." Haru didn't listen to him and just continued to rage. She continued to verbally abuse him and charged up to him, making the brunette stand from his seat. He put his arms up defensively as she grabbed the front of his shirt and started to shake him as she yelled.

"Maa, there's no need to get angry and it's true that Tsuna doesn't know the two personally, Gokudera told me that he's a tutor from Italy. And as for Lambo, I never saw him at Tsuna's house and his mom even said that she has only ever had one kid. " Yamamoto looked at the girl with truthful eyes.

"Honto ni?" She seemed to have calmed down.

"Dakara~~!" Tsuna was feeling even more annoyed than when he was getting chased by the poisonous woman. She then let go of him and was about to apologize when...

"I'll save you Juudaime!" a loud voice exclaimed as the area they were standing in was bombarded. They looked through the smoke and Gokudera was running their way, though he still seemed a little off for some reason.

"HAGIII~" Haru had backed away towards the railing but was blown back slightly which caused her to fly over the edge."

"Haru!" Tsuna looked back towards her as she fell. He felt regret as he watched her fall, thinking that he could have prevented something like this.

"What do we do?" Yamamoto joined him, thinking about jumping over to go get her.

"Now it's time to see if my suspicion is correct." Reborn tilted his fedora hat and pointed his gun towards the brunette. "Now, save her with your dying will." He fired the bullet. Tsuna felt the impact of the bullet at the back of his head and he then fell over as well. To Yamamoto, it looked as the boy had suddenly fainted as his eyes drooped and his body went limp as it fell.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto motioned to reach for the other but was halted by Reborn who jumped onto his shoulder. "kid..." The baseball ace just looked at the infant who didn't seem worried in the slightest. He decided to trust this kid too since he also seemed to be really reliable, much like Tsuna, and he really knew what he was talking about. So he decided to leave the situation to the brunette.

"Where's Juudaime?" Gokudera then showed up from behind the smoke screen and ran towards the raven haired boy.

"Down there." Yamamoto motioned.

"Yakyuu-baka, why did you let Juudaime fall?!" Gokudera then got the same idea as he did previous and looked ready to jump over the railing, following the pair.

"Matte Gokudera, Tsuna can handle this." Reborn said. The silverette seemed reluctant to listen but gave in, for he knew better than to defy the infant hitman.

As Tsuna fell, he could hear his regret echoing repeatedly in his mind, reminding him over and over that he could have prevented Haru from getting hurt, from learning of the mafia, from knowing him... His eyes then snapped open, burning a blazing orange and a dying will flame had appeared on his forehead. Much like earlier that day, he had jumped a step in the dying will mode process and immediately went into Hyper Dying Will Mode. He then pointed himself downward in order to catch up with Haru. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close so as to protect her from the impact of the water.

They then resurfaced and the boy dragged the girl towards the edge. Tsuna coughed up water as he pulled himself out of the river after pushing Haru up, the dying will flame dissipating from his forehead. His body ached much like it had before and knew that it was because of the bullet. He didn't put much thought into it as he lay on his back and tried to take in as much oxygen as he could.

"Tsuna!"

"Juudaime!"

The two boys ran down a few stairs and met up with them at the cement river side. "Are you alright?"

"Haru is alright desu." Haru sat on her legs and tried to appear tough.

"Yeah, me too." Tsuna struggled to sit up, still feeling the ache in his body. "Where's Reborn?"

"The kid said that he'd go home first." Yamamoto smiled and moved towards their side. He went over to Haru as Gokudera went towards Tsuna. "Can you stand?" He gave Haru his hand. She nodded and stood up with ease. Tsuna however, was having an even more difficult time.

"I'm sorry Juudaime!" Gokudera immediately apologized when he was beside the brunette. "I thought you were getting attacked by enemies and I just acted."

"It's alright Gokudera..." Tsuna sighed, hiding his annoyance. "But you don't look too good yourself." He said as Gokudera seemed surprised and then hid his expression.

"When I awoke, aneki was feeding me her homemade soup." That was all Tsuna needed to hear but wondered on how the boy survived afterwards. He decided to put that off for later.

"Next time, just make sure you know who you're fighting. That'll prevent future complications." Tsuna instructed.

"H-Hai, Juudaime!" Gokudera was happy to have been forgiven.

"So, let's get going." Tsuna struggled to stand up which immediately made Gokudera act quickly to help support him. But it wasn't much help as he could barely support himself.

"Yakyuu-baka, we need to get Juudaime home." Gokudera called out reluctantly.

"I'm on it." Now these three were a sight. Gokudera looked like a drunken teenager who could barely manage to keep himself up, Tsuna was soaking wet and looked miserable and Yamamoto had an arm in a sling but still kept up his giddy attitude.

Haru couldn't help but feel sorry for the trio, though she didn't really understand much of what they were all talking about. Other than that, she decided to walk them home too because in a way, she felt responsible for what had happened and needed to make sure that they got back home safely. But all she did was bicker with Gokudera on the way, for she now thought of him as the bad influence on her Tsuna-san.

Tsuna just wondered why he was attracting more and more people. Throughout the whole course of the day, Yamamoto seemed to have deemed himself to be his official friend; Gokudera knew where he lived and announced that he'd come by to make sure he was safe at all time; Lambo had arrived to come and assassinate Reborn, failed and now his mother had taken a liking to the child; Bianchi had made a sudden appearance, announcing her assassination attempt on the Decimo and finally, Haru had met Lambo first and now knew of the relation between him and Tsuna.

The poor brunette didn't know how he could get these people to stay away from him but one thing he knew for certain was that all this craziness happened when Reborn had first made his appearance. And another thing that he knew was that he'd have to distance himself from these people fast before others get the idea that he was starting to get friendly with people.

**Haaa~ done  
****And yes, I added in Bianchi, Haru and Lambo all at once ahahaha  
****Glad you guys are liking this  
****I know I've been saying that a lot recently  
****But it just makes me really happy ^^  
****Well, till next time  
****Owari desu~**

Updated: 23/11/2012


	6. Target 5: A Past Problem Comes Back

**Chiwassu  
****So… yup…  
****I'm sure you all realized by now but  
****I'm sort of speeding up the inserting character process haha  
****It's because you guys already know who's who and stuff  
****So I'll just try and wrap it up in this and the next chapter hopefully haha XDD**

**And I have a little surprise for you guys too~  
****Hope you enjoy it… and for those of you who don't like it  
****I'm sorry -.-' it's just that I love this person a lot haha  
****And I just thought that this person deserved to at least be in canon more (o/ /A/ /o)**

**I'll explain more in my end note  
****Saa we start~**

**Disclaimer: I have no rights. If I owned Reborn… the first thing I would do would be to develop Tsuna more as a badass boss… not that he isn't one… just more TYL bosslike in the present but still needs to keep Reborn around**

* * *

Target 5: A Past Problem Comes Back

The three boys, followed by Haru had managed to make it back to the Sawada household, though it had grown dark which indicated the late hour. Yamamoto said that he should be getting home since his dad would get worried. Gokudera just grumbled and said that he didn't need him there to help Tsuna. And Tsuna just didn't say anything on the subject.

"Don't you two have to get home?" Tsuna ask, not really concerned for them but instead, wanted to be left alone. He didn't like showing others his weak side but just couldn't get out of the help he received from the two boys.

"It isn't right of Haru to leave the person who saved her life." Haru said and took Yamamoto's place of support.

"And I, as Juudaime's Right Hand Man, should be the one to accompany him until he has fully recovered." Gokudera announced. _'When did he decide that?'_ Tsuna thought skeptically but still didn't say anything. They entered the house quietly and found Reborn sitting on the couch waiting for them.

"You certainly took your time." Gokudera apologized for his carelessness immediately after, trying to take the blame. Reborn just ignored him and dismissed the two teens, telling them to return back home. Haru lived down the block so she said that she would be by early tomorrow to see how they were doing.

"Please don't." Tsuna grumbled as she waved goodbye at the door.

"See you tomorrow, Tsuna-san!" She ignored the comment and rushed off.

"Aho-nna!" Gokudera exclaimed after her. "Can't you see that Juudaime doesn't want you here?!" Gokudera exclaimed.

'_The same goes for you though...'_ Tsuna sweatdropped and entered the house. "You better get home, Gokudera-kun. Bianchi might still be hanging around here." He said. That was what really got Gokudera going. He paled for a second before he said his goodbyes. He looked like he was abandoning the area in order to save his own hide.

"So what happened to Bianchi?" Tsuna asked.

"She went home." Reborn responded.

"Well, that's nice and where's mom and Lambo?"

"Asleep, I told them that you would be coming home late so she put aside your dinner for when you came back."

"Alright." Tsuna yawned and trudged up the stairs. Reborn followed. Tsuna had taken a shower and put on his pajamas then walked into his room where he found the infant to be waiting for him.

"So I have a question for you." Reborn said as he sat in his hammock.

"Depending on what's asked, I'll see if I answer it." Tsuna said, challenging the hitman. Reborn really detested this personality that his once cute student had developed but he controlled his actions to make sure he got a response.

"Why is it that you are able to jump straight to Hyper Dying Will Mode without the basic training of being shot by the bullet? You've been shot once or twice when you were younger but not enough for you to be able to control the flames for so long so well." Reborn said, looking at the other suspiciously.

"A lot happened when you disappeared from the mansion but you have some explaining to do yourself..." Tsuna looked at the hitman with the same suspicious look. "How about this, I tell you what you want to hear and you tell me what I want."

"Depends on what's asked." Reborn smirked, using the same statement as the brunette.

"Why'd you turn into an infant? What happened to you exactly when you disappeared?" Tsuna looked at the infant, his expression softening up on purpose.

"Hmm..." Reborn continued to eye his student, thinking about whether it was worth the trade or not. "If I answer this, would the favor I owe you be consider as, as you'd say, cashed in?"

"No, I give you info while you give me yours, equal trade. I believe it's the same amount of secrecy that's carried on both ends wouldn't you say? And when you factor in you going ahead and getting some advanced information from jii-chan, you're lucky I consider it equal." The boy smirked. The boy would annoy the hitman to no end but he did make a very good point and Reborn had to respect him for that.

"Fine, it's a deal then, I'll tell you about my past while you tell me about yours." Tsuna nodded at this. "But not right now, it's time for bed." Reborn cut the explanations short.

"Whaa..." Tsuna felt his eye twitch. "Reborn, you're the one who asked first! You can't just stop in the midd–" He then cut himself short as he realized that the infant had immediately fallen asleep with his eyes wide open and a snot bubble formed from his nose. Tsuna just groaned.

'_What a charming way to fall asleep...'_ He thought before he pulled his covers over his head then lied down. Although the hitman had escaped for now, Tsuna wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. If he wanted answers, then he'll get them one way or another and he didn't mind blowing one of his secrets for another person's.

Tsuna just shook his heads of these thoughts for now and rested. His body was still in pretty bad shape no thanks to the infant tutor of his, so he decided to call it quits for the day and prepared himself for the next morning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Juudaime! Juudaime!" Tsuna woke up to the nickname and rubbed the stardust away from his eyes. (A/N: someone had told me long time ago that when you sleep, stars come down to earth and play and as they play around you, they leave dust behind and it gathers in your eyes or something... kinda weird I know but that's how I heard it haha)

Tsuna yawned, stretching upwards before walking over towards the window to find the silverette and the baseball ace standing outside the house.

"Ohayo, Juudaime!" Gokudera saluted.

"Yo Tsuna, we came a bit early today." Yamamoto laughed and waved towards the other. Tsuna just sighed and gave them an annoyed look before closing his window and getting ready for school. That whole week had been pretty hectic for the boy and it had worn him out. Since his first encounter with Bianchi 6 days ago, she had been attacking him nonstop. Whenever and wherever he was, she'd pop out of the randomest places with a tray full of poison.

Reborn didn't say much about it; in fact, whenever Tsuna caught sight of the infant, he would just smile, as if laughing to himself. That just irked the brunette more as he ran from the Italian woman. When Tsuna confronted the infant about the woman again, he just said to get rid of her if he didn't want her around. Tsuna just scrunched his face in anger and didn't say anything afterwards. He couldn't do something like hurt Bianchi; not only was she Gokudera's sister, she was just trying to get her love back and there really wasn't anything bad about her intentions. But her actions were another story however.

At least, she never attacked him during school or when he was at home. There was something of an agreement between her and Reborn saying that she may injure civilians if she continued to do it publicly, so he made those kind of places off limits. She listened whole heartedly to the hitman so Tsuna made sure to take note of the routes that led to these civilian populated safe zones, hoping to put an end to her assaults for that day.

Other than Bianchi, he had other things to deal with at or outside of school. When Tsuna was walking to or from his house, he was always greeted by Haru, who had always 'happened to be there'. Since the Bianchi incident, she wouldn't leave him alone and would occasionally come by the house, as she claimed, to visit Lambo much to his annoyance. Nana had gotten used to the girl's presence and told her to come by anytime, an offer that Haru happily complied to.

Meanwhile, at school, Gokudera and Yamamoto wouldn't leave him alone at all, no matter what he said. That plus Ryohei's constant nagging about joining his club and Kyoko and Hana's daily chat with him, he never had a time when he was by himself at all. Other people were starting to talk about how his personality was getting a bit softer due to the increase of supposed friends that he's made, and that the next time he was alone, they should try and approach him as well.

For one reason or another, people have always wanted to approach or converse with him... or so he heard from Yamamoto, but they were just afraid of the constant rejections that they have witnessed from others' experiences with the reclusive brunette. Because of that fear, they never approached him unless they had a legitimate excuse like a school project or a favor from an adult to call him.

Tsuna just shook all these thoughts from his head before gathering his things together. He then walked out the door and went down the stairs. As Tsuna walked down, he was then greeted by a full household. Bianchi was sitting in the kitchen with Reborn on her lap for some odd reason, Nana had heard the two boys who were just calling to Tsuna outside and had invited them in for breakfast, which they happily accepted. At that moment, Gokudera and Lambo were arguing, calling each other names like Ahoshi and Baka-dera. Yamamoto just laughed at the pair, saying that they were like brothers.

Just then, Ipin, a 5 year old Chinese girl that Tsuna and the others had met only yesterday, had scolded Lambo about being more respectful. The girl had suddenly dropped in on them trying to assassinate Tsuna... making it the third person to attempt assassination that week. Tsuna had found out of her eyesight troubles and the girl had found out that she had the wrong person. She was later sent a letter saying to abort her mission. She was then invited to live with them by Nana.

Tsuna just looked at the whole situation annoyed. How did he go from only conversing with his mother to having a table full of people?

Something was definitely wrong with his image as of late, if he had allowed this many people to get close to him, let alone live in his house. It was just as his classmates had said as they talked to each other in secrecy. He had to think of a way to throw them off his back.

"Ahh, please excuse my intrusion, Juudaime!" Gokudera bowed his head towards the brunette as he stood in the doorway towards the kitchen.

"Yo Tsuna. Thanks for letting us in." Yamamoto greeted again.

"But I didn't do anything..." Tsuna mumbled to himself. "And what's Bianchi doing here? I thought she wasn't allowed in the house?" The brunette looked over towards his mother, making sure that she wasn't really listening to the conversation. He knew that he shouldn't be talking about this stuff in front of her but he really needed to know for her own safety.

"The agreement was that she wasn't allowed to attack in the house or around civilians. If she's not doing anything of the like, then she can do what she pleases." Reborn corrected. "And I made another agreement with her; meet your new tutor on Home Economics."

"Do I really need someone like that?" Tsuna asked sceptically.

"This knowledge is essential for infiltration, scouting and poison identification." Reborn said.

"And why didn't you make that sort of deal the first day I had to deal with her?!" Tsuna looked at his mother warily as she was busy taking out some more cooking utensils, still not fully listening to the conversation.

"It was more fun that way and it helped train your endurance. That's something a future mafia boss needs during assassinations." Reborn said, not caring if Nana had heard or not.

"Reborn, okaa-san is still here." The brunette glared.

"Aw Tsu-kun; Reborn-kun, Ipin-chan and Lambo-chan are only talking about a game that they're playing. You shouldn't ruin their fun, they're children after all." She smiled, though she hadn't really heard much of what they had said.

"Wow, a mafia game? I want to play. I remember hearing Gokudera and Tsuna playing with fireworks at the back of the school and thought it looked fun." Yamamoto laughed.

"Yakyuu-baka, this isn't a game!" Gokudera exclaimed.

"Ara, Gokudera-kun is playing too? He's taking it very seriously too. See Tsu-kun, that's how you play with children." Nana told her son as if scolding him.

"Gokudera-kun..." Tsuna said in a low tone, angry that the silverette had said such a thing in front of his mother and was about to stomp over towards them when the doorbell had rung. Nana asked her son to go and answer it as she was making extra breakfast for everyone. She seemed to be enjoying it so he had no choice, really.

He felt his anger dissipate as he calmed down, walking towards the door. He opened it and found a familiar orange haired girl standing there with a spiky haired boy standing a few good feet behind her. "Ohayo, Tsuna-kun." The girl greeted with her usual smile.

"Kyoko-chan, what are you doing here? You don't usually come by my house unless it's really important." Tsuna said almost monotonously, his expression void of any of his previous anger.

"Ahh, but it really is important, Tsuna-kun." She said and motioned towards the boy. Tsuna looked at him and recognized him in an instant. He narrowed his eyes at the boy but the other didn't seem to notice as he was avoiding eye contact. "I ran into him this morning and asked me for a favor."

"And what does he want?" Tsuna crossed his arms.

"Don't be like that Tsuna-kun..." Kyoko smiled with pity in her eyes, most likely for the one behind her. "He really didn't mean any harm last week, it's just... uh, well..." the girl really couldn't get her thoughts out properly in order to help the boy.

"Never mind, you don't have to say anything Kyoko, I'll just see you around at school. I forgot that I called a meeting for the Kendo Club so I have to be at school early." The boy just turned and walked away but Tsuna noticed the unsatisfied hunch in the boy's posture.

"Tsuna-kun, will you please talk to sempai later today? Anytime is fine really, and you don't have to talk either I guess, but will you please, at least, just listen to him?" Kyoko pleaded.

"I'm pretty sure he made it clear that he changed his mind and doesn't want to talk to me." Tsuna scratched the back of his head, not really caring whether the guy talked to him or not.

"But I heard that he hasn't been doing so well recently. Since that fight you two had, Onii-san told me that he's been really down." The girl continued to try and convince him, though she knew that even if it was her, there's still a big possibility that Tsuna would refuse the request, just like what he'd do to anyone else.

There was a long pause before Tsuna finally spoke again. "...I'll see what happens later..." Tsuna averted his eyes away from the girl and sighed. Kyoko just looked at him a bit surprised. The brunette actually responded somewhat positively this time around instead of his usual up front negative response. Her expression then lit up and she smiled wholehearted.

"Uhn," She said with a nod of her head. "arigatou, Tsuna-kun." There was a change in the boy and she knew immediately that it was a big improvement since the first time that she'd met him four years ago. Even if it was a small change in his response, she was glad that he was somewhat openly trying to help others now. She then waved in goodbye and ran off to school to tell Hana.

Tsuna just looked at the girl oddly as she retreated from the house for she looked very happy all of a sudden after he'd answered her. He just shrugged it off, thinking it wasn't a big deal since he knew that Kyoko would get happy over the tiniest things. He then, unwillingly, went to join the noisy crowd in order to get his breakfast.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

That school day went as per usual till the lunch bell had rung. Tsuna had practically dashed towards the door in order to get away from his so called, self-proclaimed friends but no one had really noticed for they were all still shaking off the feeling of their recent lecture. The brunette then immediately made his way towards the roof where no one would usually go; he just hoped that the prefect wouldn't be there again.

Upon opening the door, Tsuna sighed in relief as it was empty. He then moved to the right of the doorway after closing it, and sat by the wall. _'Finally a moment's peace...'_ He thought and uncovered his bento lunch.

"Hmm? Sawada, what're you doing here?" Tsuna's face cringed upon hearing a slightly familiar voice. He then looked upwards and was looking at Mochida's face.

"What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked back. He wondered why was it that every time he tried to find peace on the roof, someone was already here. At least this time, it wasn't the bloodthirsty prefect who seemed to always be looking for a fight; though this wasn't much better than the other option.

"I asked you first." Mochida gave the boy a hard stare back but the brunette still didn't respond. "Let me guess, you're hiding away from your Guard Mutt and the Baseball Nut. Hah, figures." Mochida smirked, moving out of Tsuna's sight. He lay on his back and rested on his arms. He then half expected the brunette to say something back but it had remained silent.

"If you want to keep talking then go right on ahead, but I won't be saying anything." Tsuna said breaking the silence. Mochida's eye just twitched. The boy's attitude really was something else.

"Why the sudden urge for me to keep talking? I thought you liked being alone?" Mochida half taunted.

"You were the one who asked Kyoko-chan for a favor and then chickened out. I personally don't care if you want to talk with me or not but Kyoko-chan had asked me to at least listen, so that's what I'm doing." The brunette said nonchalantly. Mochida was taken aback by the response and suddenly had the feeling of wanting to stay with the younger for a bit.

"I-If you really want to listen then I'll talk but only 'cause Kyoko said I should." The older said stubbornly.

"Whatever you want to believe." Tsuna said and took a bite from his lunch. Mochida hesitated for a bit, not really certain on how he should get what he wants to say off his chest. He then shook his head and decided to get this over with.

"I just... want to apologize for suddenly attacking you last week." Mochida blushed but kept himself out of the brunette's view in order to avoid being seen.

"If this is about that challenge then it isn't me who you should be apologizing to." Tsuna said indifferently. "Kyoko-chan was the one who ended up hurt by the match, not me..."

"I did apologize to her, but she said the exact same thing you did." Mochida said, annoyed that these two people seemed to always be trying to push the boy on someone else, as if not wanting his pity. "Just listen, like you said you would and don't say a thing!" Mochida exclaimed but the brunette didn't seem to be fazed by the loud tone.

"Tch... I didn't want to leave this alone 'cause it feels like I owe you or something. Plus you were the first one to point out my flaws. No one ever dared to defy me 'cause I'm the captain of the Kendo Club, so I guess I got a little cocky with it. My old man has a dojo see, so everyone always assumed that I was better than them..."

"And you drove your own club to the ground because of your selfish thinking." Tsuna cut in, after finishing up his meal.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Mochida narrowed his eyes but didn't make a move to look at the brunette on the floor below.

"Well, now I'm unshutting up. You made the problem so you should fix it with your own hands. Either that or you pack up and give the position to someone who'll actually try and make a difference in the club. You have to take on everyone's problems and shoulder the burden on your own, even if those following you insist otherwise. They look up to you, so you have to stand strong even if you may be faltering on the inside. That's what it means to be a leader right?"

"I-I guess you have a point there." Mochida suddenly went quiet.

"And if you aren't acting as a leader should, then you're followers will be the one to suffer, will they not?" Tsuna was met with silence from the other but he figured that his sempai understood the gist of it. He was about to say one last thing when he heard a faint calling.

"Ju...ime! J...dai..me! JUUDAIME! I have found you!" Gokudera had suddenly burst through the doors to the roof and looked at the boy.

"Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna looked at the silverette, questioningly.

"Tsuna, we've been looking for you all lunch!" Yamamoto came in afterwards with Kyoko and Hana tagging along behind him.

"Finally, the Silver Haired Monkey can shut up." Hana felt a vein throb in her forehead.

"Fukigen na Ka-onna, who told you to come along?" Gokudera exclaimed. (meaning grumpy faced woman... I mixed kao(meaning face) and onna(meaning woman) hehe my poor attempt at insulting nicknames... if Gokudera already has a nickname for Hana, would you please tell me? XD)

"Hmph... Kyoko and I knew Sawada long before you two did, so if anyone should have a problem, it should be Kyoko." Hana said defensively.

"No, it's alright Hana-chan, we're all friends aren't we?" Kyoko maintained her sweet and soft expression.

"You can't let people push you around, Kyoko. That just leads to you being taken advantage of." Hana scolded slightly.

"Looks like you weren't able to shake them off after all." Mochida joked.

"Hmm..." was Tsuna's answer.

"Hey, it's nice up here. Why didn't you tell us that you were going to be on the roof? We would have come with you." Yamamoto smiled.

'_That was the whole point...'_ Tsuna frowned.

"If Juudaime likes to eat up here then I shall accompany you from now on." Gokudera announced.

"Hah, the Guard Mutt following his master whole heartedly, what a cute scene." Mochida commented, tauntingly.

"What are you doing here, you disgusting Take Hiru!" Gokudera exclaimed towards the black haired boy.

(A/N: it means Bamboo Leech... haha I know I used this in my other story ;P I'll just explain again for people... because Mochida's in the Kendo Club using Bamboo Swords and Gokudera claims him to be an unwanted parasite, so therefore a 'parasite with a bamboo stick' or 'Bamboo Leech' haha... just my little odd sense of humor and lack for a better nickname... gomen once again for my poor nicknaming XD)

"Who are you calling a Bamboo Leech?!" Mochida seemed to snarl and leaned over the roof's edge to glare at the silverette.

"Do Leeches like bamboo?" Yamamoto wondered.

"SHUT UP YOU BASEBALL NUT/IDIOT!" The two hotheaded boys exclaimed towards the other raven hair.

"haha, you guys are so alike." The boy just ignored the nicknames.

"WE ARE NOT ALIKE!" They exclaimed in unison again. "STOP THAT!" Just then, they heard loud stomping coming up the stairs before the door had burst open yet again.

"EXTREEEMME! I heard there was a party on the roof going on without me!" Ryohei exclaimed.

"Onii-san..." Kyoko felt embarrassed by her brother yet again. Hana and Tsuna just sweatdropped at the surprise appearance.

"What party?!" Mochida and Gokudera exclaimed in unison yet again. "KNOCK IT OFF!"

"Things just got more complicated!" Tsuna groaned to himself as they now added the extreme loving boxer who seemed to have gotten hit in the head more than necessary. Now the three boys were all yelling, each trying to be heard over the other two. Tsuna wouldn't be surprised if Hibari had come just to bite them all to death due to the noise. But he feared that if they didn't stop, the whole town would go deaf soon.

"Boys are all Monkeys... not sophisticated at all." Hana sat down with Kyoko and started to eat their lunch.

"Hana-chan, not all boys are like that." Kyoko tried to justify.

"Of course, I know that. As for the boys in our school, not much could be said otherwise."

"What was that, Fukigen na Ka-onna?!"

"Why won't you just shut that mouth of yours for once?! Can't you go two seconds without trying to yell and pick a fight with anyone?"

"Why am I not allowed to be left alone in peace?" Tsuna sighed to himself and looked towards Kyoko. She just smiled at him, silently thanking for the supposed talk that she assumed he had with Mochida prior to their entrance. She looked at the three boys and her brother who were yelling at each other, well three were yelling while Yamamoto just stood and laughed. The Kendo Captain seemed to be up in his spirits again and it must've been because of Tsuna.

"They seem to be getting along well." She said to the brunette.

"I guess that's one weird way to look at it." Tsuna mumbled in response.

"Haha, sou da ne?" (that's right, isn't it?) The brunette just looked at the scene in front of him and just sighed once more to himself. Maybe he could get used to this atmosphere if he really tried to stop rejecting it... but then again, that could be his selfishness trying to talk him into finding comfort with these innocent people, getting them more and more involved with himself.

**Haa~ now I can relax again  
****Not that I'm not relaxed when writing  
****But I just get excited about stuff easily**

**Anyways... SURPRISE! It was Mochida Kensuke gyahaha  
****I thought he deserved more recognition and I always wanted to include him in the story  
****I felt that if he was in canon then Tsuna would have someone better to relate to than Yamamoto  
****(I still love Yamamoto but he's more 'accepting' of crazy and odd situations)  
****Mochida seemed like the person who would be more of the normal person involved  
****And would also be the straightman for all the mafia gags and such because he uses common sense lol**

**Just thinking about it makes me giddy  
****Well, there's my blabber for the week haha  
****Till next time ^^  
****Owari desu~**

Updated: 07/12/2012


	7. Target 6: Why Are You Here?

**Chiwassu~~~  
****So I hope you guys really didn't mind Mochida  
****and weren't just saying things so that I wouldn't feel bad  
****but well, too late to change it now…  
****(not really but who cares hehe)  
****So let's get on with the last few people to introduce  
****Though I kinda went out of order didn't I?  
****Oh well, as long as they show up and it makes sense lol \(- v -)/  
****Saa, We Start!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned KHR, then I would have made the past play a slightly more important part in the future arc as opposed to just cameos… just a thought, I thought it would be more interesting if they got to know their past selves a bit better than who they were recorded to be in history or something like that**

* * *

Chapter 6: Why Are You Here?

Tsuna was able to go home alone that day. He was grateful for it since Yamamoto and Gokudera, who would usually walk with him, would be arguing the whole time; though it was mostly one sided on Gokudera's part. Yamamoto had baseball practice, so he told the other two to go on without him and Gokudera had been called to the principal's office after school. Tsuna really didn't want to know what the silverette had done that would cause him to get called in right at the end of the day.

"At least I'm alone for once." Tsuna sighed with glee and was able to smile for once in his life.

"Tsuna-nii is ranked number 3 to have the most calming and refreshing smile on a mafiaso." A calm voice had suddenly said, alarming the brunette. Tsuna looked around, wondering who had spoken out so suddenly before noticing a young boy writing in a large book. Immediately, he recognized him as the Petit Prince aka the Ranking Prince Fuuta. Tsuna blushed as he was caught smiling but shook it off before walking up to the other.

"So, you're Fuuta de la Stella." Tsuna said, looking down on him.

"Yup." Fuuta suddenly turned cheery after his last expression while ranking. When he was finished writing, he pocketed his large book into his jacket. Tsuna was amazed that it had fit somewhere but didn't really focus much on that.

"Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be in Italy somewhere?" The brunette questioned him.

"I've actually come here to ask for your help." Fuuta confessed. "Please let me stay with you!" He blurted.

"Whaa– stay with me? At my house? Why my help?" He really didn't know what to think. "I'm sure you could find someone that you're really close to who could be of much more help than me." Tsuna tried to brush the boy off, not wanting any more trouble to come into his life. However, Fuuta furiously shook his head.

"It was ranked that you were the 5th top ranked person who wouldn't take advantage of me or my powers." The little boy justified.

"You know just because rumors say you're never wrong, doesn't always mean that your rankings are never wrong." Tsuna rebutted.

"You're also ranked first in people who could never turn down a request from a person in need." Tsuna twitched at that. He tried so hard not to laugh at the irony of it all. That was pretty much what he did daily to his classmates and yet now, so-called Ranking Prince was trying to tell him that he'd never turn down a request?

"Now I'm positive that you aren't always correct." Tsuna looked at him before walking around him.

"But Tsuna-nii, do you mind if I call you that? I feel like I already know you since I've ranked you so much already. But anyways, Tsuna-nii, even if you don't like showing that you help people doesn't mean that Tsuna-nii doesn't help people in need." The young boy chased after him.

"And how would you know that?" Tsuna didn't stop walking.

"Because that's what my rankings have led to and that's the reason why I'm standing here in front of you." Fuuta's eyes still looked hopefully at the brunette even though he was trying to walk away from him.

"And what exactly did you rank that would lead you here? And how would you rank me so many times without even knowing who I am?" Tsuna still questioned even if he was trying to get rid of him.

"I first ranked who would most likely not take advantage of me or my powers like I told you earlier. That was the first time I saw your name. I also ranked the safest place for me to hide away from dangerous people. Namimori came up as number one. I then did a little searching and found out that coincidentally, Tsuna-nii lived in Namimori. So I thought that maybe Tsuna-nii would be able to help me. I then ranked you first for people who wouldn't turn down a request from people in need and a whole bunch of other rankings so that I could get to know Tsuna-nii a whole lot better." Fuuta grinned childishly.

Tsuna now wished that he hadn't asked. Now it felt like the kid had been stalking him with his super magical ranking powers. "Last question," Tsuna's pace seemed to slow a bit as the smaller boy was getting tired of chasing after him. "how often are you sought by these 'dangerous people' as you call them. Do they always show up at your house and threaten you or something. Don't your parents help you out or care about your wellbeing at all?"

"I don't live anywhere particular." Fuuta answered quietly and immediately froze in his tracks. This made the brunette halt as well.

Fuuta continued. "I would usually stay with nice famiglias that I'd be helping at a time. And I don't know anyone who is blood related to me. All I know is that every time I go somewhere, someone is always trying to get me to rank something for them. There are nice people sometimes who come and ask for my help, they're the ones that I stay with, but sometimes, they stop being nice once I do what they want. And usually there are dangerous people who come looking for me. When they find out where I am, they would come and attack everyone and try to take me away with them."

Tsuna froze when he heard that. He saw many unwanted memories that corresponded with what the young boy was saying... _Sometimes, they stop being nice..._ The words repeated in the brunette's mind... _They would come and attack everyone and try to take me away..._ the brunette could feel his breath shortening and feel himself shaking at the thoughts that appeared in his mind.

"Tsuna-nii, are you alright?" Fuuta shook the boy, worry clouding his eyes.

"Y-Yeah..." He came back to his awareness. "Sorry to scare you like that." The brunette sighed, attempting to calm himself down.

"That's alright. I'm sure Tsuna-nii has a lot to think about and doesn't need any more things. If I'll just cause Tsuna-nii trouble, then I'll be on my way then." Fuuta tried to sound cheery about it but his eyes betrayed him. After hearing his life story and his family background, or there lack of, then he couldn't bring himself to turn away the kid.

"Hold on Fuuta... I... guess..." Fuuta looked towards the older boy. "I guess, your rankings aren't so... off." Tsuna scratched the back of his neck and glanced to his side. The brunette wasn't being as direct as he thought but the younger had gotten the message and his face lit up with a smile as he ran towards the boss to be.

"Arigato Tsuna-nii" Fuuta hugged him and was beaming with happiness at the acceptance.

"Yeah yeah, you're happy but you have to explain to me just what I'm getting myself into later when we get to the house. But I first have to explain to okaa-san why another kid wants to take up residence in our house." The brunette sighed as he was letting another person, this time by his own hands, settle into his daily life.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After school had ended, Mochida had come by the brunette's house as the boy had suggested earlier that day at lunch, before they had separated as the bell for class rang. He wasn't sure why the boy had made such a suggestion, though he just justified it as 'the brunette still wanted to talk to him'. The Kendo Captain wasn't even sure if he'd actually convince himself to show up. But in the end, he just mindlessly wandered towards the house.

As the house came into view, the black haired boy had noticed a huge crowd of men swarming the outside area of the house. They all had worn black suits and were wearing sunglasses, completely hiding their eyes. It made him not want to approach the house whatsoever, he didn't even want to be within the 50 metre radius of the house's area but alas, he was already 10 feet away. The men in black all noticed him approaching. He twitched and wondered what was going on.

"Who are you and state your business with this estate!" one of the men exclaimed, alarming the black haired boy. Mochida then noticed two figures standing in the midst of the scary and intimidating crowd, looking just as confused as he did, but not so much scared. He realized that it was Sawada after a while, along with a shorter sandy haired boy who was carrying an abnormally large book tucked under his arm. The brunette seemed to mumble something before the men around him took up a shocked expression.

"Welcome home, Sawada-sama!" they all greeted in respect. Mochida took note that the brunette dreaded the home welcoming. Mochida wondered if this was normal for the unsociable brunette.

"Oi Sawada!" Mochida finally decided to call out, in a lazy tone as he didn't want to appear like he came by on purpose. He also did it to announce himself in a way so that it didn't alarm the sea of scary men and didn't want to make it look like he was sneaking up on them or had any ill intentions.

"Mochida-sempai, what are you doing here?" Tsuna raised an eyebrow at him. Once Tsuna made it known that they knew each other, Mochida penetrated the wall of men in black; though it didn't make him feel any more comfortable.

"My house is just down the block..." He said, it wasn't exactly a lie but he never really walked down this lane before either. It also seemed like the brunette had forgotten the offer he made earlier, so he didn't want to look stupid. "So who's the kid?" Mochida looked down at him, wanting to change the subject.

"Just someone who I ran into." The brunette answered, though Mochida got that it wasn't the entire truth either.

"Hi, are you Tsuna-nii's friend?" Fuuta questioned him.

"Well, not really... I guess." The men surrounding him suddenly gave off a chilling and warning sort of aura. "I guess... ac-acquaintances..." Mochida stuttered out, getting spooked by the supposed guards.

"Don't mind them, though I don't really know who they are but they seem harmless enough." Tsuna shrugged them off.

"You don't know them?" Mochida twitched.

"Nope, never seen them in my life." The brunette answered nonchalantly. "But why don't you come in... if you still wanna talk more and continue our interrupted conversation, then you're welcome to. I promised Kyoko that I would, like I said before, and I have to keep my word to her." He said it like it was a big burden on him. Mochida felt like the boy didn't really feel that way but he let it slide, for... safety purposes... he glanced around at the men again. Mochida complied and said that he had nothing else better to do before following the brunette and the odd little boy in the house.

"Okaa-san, tadaima!" Tsuna called into the house but was surprised to find a few more men inside. But there were only a handful of them. On the couch sat his mother with a blond, italian looking man and an older man standing behind him.

"Tsu-kun, okairi." Nana greeted. "We have some visitors." She said in a cheery voice.

"_Some?"_ Mochida questioned in his mind.

"Ara, Tsu-kun came home with friends!" Nana jumped up and ran over to her son, hugging him tightly. "Tsu-kun finally brought his friends over!" She was so overjoyed that she couldn't express herself fully. Mochida felt heartwarmed by the mother's reaction to their entrance.

"Not necessarily friends okaa-san..." Tsuna trailed off, sort of killing the mood.

"Hello, Tsuna-nii's okaa-san, my name is Fuuta." Fuuta greeted.

"What an adorable child but you may call me Mama, Fuuta-kun." Fuuta brightened at that offer as he nodded. "And what are you doing with my son?" She questioned him genuinely.

"I have to talk to you about that okaa-san." The brunette said in a whisper. He explained Fuuta's situation and she immediately beamed, surprising Mochida.

"We're going to have another member in our family." Mochida could have sworn that she, for certain, was glowing in happiness.

"Yeah and speaking of family members..." Tsuna really didn't want to ask and didn't like using the term 'family members' to label people but he needed his mother to leave somehow. "where are Lambo and Ipin?"

"I let Haru-chan take them out to the park for the afternoon. I forgot that I told them I would meet them there and that I would do the shopping with them after we met up as well. Oh but I can't ask Haru-chan to help me with that as well. She's already done so much and I'm sure she has her own work that needs to be done." Nana felt like she was in a bit of a dilemma. "And Tsu-kun has guests over and can't help me either..."

Mochida thought about it for a bit before volunteering to help carry her bags for her as she went out. She thanked him for his generosity after she asked if he was sure to which he responded, "I'd have to wait for Sawada to finish with his 'other guest' first before we finish up our 'business' together, so it's the least I could do for you and it passes time too." She was so glad that her son had made friends with such polite people.

She waved goodbye to her son and to the blond guest before she motioned for the senior boy to follow her. He felt a bit awkward about the situation but Nana reassured him that she just liked getting to know the suddenly new friends that her only child had made in the past week. It had all been a sudden rush for her, so she wanted to get to know them personally, just like when she had invited Gokudera and Yamamoto for breakfast or had invited Gokudera's half-sister Bianchi to live with them as she wanted to stay with Reborn. There were also the two other infants that had suddenly appeared and now the recently new sandy haired boy that reminded her so much of her son years ago.

"You know, I just hope you kids will stay by my son's side." Nana still tried to sound lighthearted as Mochida listened to her. "He's always needed someone to be there for him but he just pushes people away from him. When I first heard that Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan were talking to him often, it made me so happy, but I had never had the chance to speak with either of them. Now Tsu-kun is coming home with many new people..." The woman now felt speechless as she couldn't muster up the words that described her feelings.

"I get it, Sawada-san. No need to explain. But I'm sure that those guys will stick with Sawada. He's tried to get them to leave him alone plenty of times but they just act as if he's never tried." Mochida told her.

"I'm sure you're one of those people too, I believe." Nana giggled as the boy turned a shade of light red. "You may call me Mama as well, or just Nana if you prefer. Most of the others call me that too." She assured.

"Then... Nana-san." Mochida tested it out, embarrassingly.

"Yup perfect." She said as they reached the park.

"MAMA!" Two infants had run up to her followed by a dark haired brunette.

(A/N: got a little mushy haha sorry Mochida for putting you in an awkward situation... though I have no idea where that came from lol ^^ anyways, let's continue)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So what's a Chiavarone doing here?" Tsuna asked lazily, not caring anymore that his room was being packed with people he didn't want to associate with. He had invited the blond upstairs so that they could speak more privately but just his luck, the guy's guards didn't want to leave him alone. It wasn't until the blond dismissed them all, except for the old man in glasses, that they left. This left the man, Romario, Dino, Tsuna and Fuuta in the room.

"So you do know me." Dino grinned at the recognition.

"Yeah... I keep tabs on a lot of people in the mafia so don't get too excited." Tsuna still didn't show much interest in the 'guest'. "So why are you here?" Tsuna asked again.

"Well, I heard that the Ranking Prince was staying at my new little bro's place, so I thought that this would be a perfect time to say hi and get some business done at the same time." Dino laughed. "So how about it Fuuta? I'm willing to pay anything but I just really need this information about these guys that are terrorizing the town where my famiglia is in." The blond handed the boy a piece of paper with some names on them.

"Dino-nii doesn't have to pay. You rank number one for Mafiaso who care for both his subordinates and civilians' safety, so I would be happy to help you any time you need it. You are also Tsuna-nii's onii-san." Fuuta smiled and started to write down info on the men on the note given by Dino.

"I must say, you have a pretty good family happening right now, lil bro." Dino praised.

"They aren't really my family and I'm not going back to the mafia." Tsuna frowned at him. "But never mind that, how'd you find out Fuuta was staying here when he only just asked me 20 minutes ago? And last time I checked, I was an only child!"

Fuuta was the one that answered. "I asked around to see if I could get a ride to Japan and the ones that told me about you had offered me a ride. They were also the last famiglia that I stayed with and were the only ones to know where I was going." Fuuta said.

"_If my luck is as bad as I think it is..." _Tsuna thought for a moment. "Let me guess..." Tsuna frowned again, dreading the answer.

"It was the Vongola." Reborn cut in, suddenly appearing. "And with Baka-Dino here being the current head of an ally to the Vongola, The Chiavarone Famiglia, he hears of things that go around in the main family. So it wouldn't surprise me that he found out right away where the Ranking Prince was heading."

"You know him Reborn?" The brunette asked the infant.

"Of course. Before I came back to tutor you, I was tutoring this hopeless boy." Reborn said.

"Hey I wasn't that hopeless, was I?" Dino whined.

"Do I need to give you more lessons, baka-Dino? Whining is going to cost you..." Reborn started to threaten.

"I-I get it, no need to get hasty." Dino tried to calm the infant down.

"So you're not really Tsuna-nii's Onii-san." Fuuta wondered out loud.

"Naw, but I like thinking of him as a little brother since he understands what it feels like to train under Reborn." Dino explained.

"Right." Tsuna wasn't interested at all with this topic. "So is that all you wanted? If that's it then you can leave... the sooner the better though."

"Ouch, you really are as snappy as I've heard." Dino chuckled awkwardly. Tsuna didn't look like he had anything else to say so Dino decided to speak more. "But I was thinking that we should get to know each other a little better. And I wanted to hang out with my lil bro!" Dino said but Tsuna still didn't change his expression.

"Usually the other person would ask to hang out instead of showing up unannounced, while the other person is away, and hang around on their own. Plus I don't want another person from the mafia wandering around this house, the tenth boss of a mafia family no less. There are too many people as it is and it doesn't make things any easier for Okaa-san." Reborn wanted to whack the other in the head for speaking like that but in a way, Reborn understood where he was coming from.

With this many mafiaso hanging about the house, it was bound to attract attention from outsiders but on the other hand, having more experienced mafiaso around would mean more security. However, Iemitsu specifically wanted Nana to be oblivious to the mafia so having all these people around would tip her off eventually, though that was the opposite of what happened at the Vongola Mansion when she had lived there with Tsuna.

"He does have a point Baka-Dino. Not to mention that having this many ominous looking people would alarm many residents in the area and you'd get into unwanted business with the local police." Reborn said.

"The thing is that I told them to wait back at the hotel but they didn't want to leave me alone by myself." Dino smiled sheepishly.

"That's because you become extremely clumsy when they're out of your sight." Tsuna scoffed.

"My little brother's being so mean!" Dino teased again.

"I told you I'm not..." Tsuna paused in midsentence as he noticed that bombing, yells and cries could be heard from out the window. Tsuna and the others moved to look outside to see what the commotion was about but were impaired by a thick cloud of dark smoke. "Who are you people stalking Juudaime's house?!" A voice exclaimed loud enough to be heard without them opening the window.

"_Looks like someone's back from the principal's office."_ The brunette inwardly groaned at the bomber's quick decision for bombing suspicious loiterers that were standing outside of his house.

"That's not good, if no one stops Gokudera, then he won't stop until everyone is eliminated." Reborn said. Tsuna didn't really motion to move quickly but Dino did the opposite. He jumped down from the window and into the fray in an attempt to save his subordinates.

"It's the boss!" "The boss has come to save us!" "You can take him boss!" The men all cheered.

"Who do you think you are?" Dino stood in front of his men as they all started to recompose themselves. They then glared towards the silverette in a menacing aura but Gokudera wasn't overwhelmed by it. The blond just took out his whip and slapped the ground with it.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Gokudera spat.

"Well don't think you can get away unscathed after hurting my subordinates." The two stared at each other for a few long moments before getting ready to pounce into action. That was until a certain student came along and completely destroyed the dark air.

"Aha, what's going on Gokudera? You meet a new friend?" Yamamoto suddenly appeared and Gokudera felt the vein in his forehead throb.

"Shut up, can't you see that Juudaime's home is under siege?!"

"Is this about that mafia game? Is the mission to protect Tsuna's house?" Yamamoto questioned with amusement.

"It isn't a game!" The silverette completely forgot the blond and turned his anger immediately towards the newcomer. Dino just questioned the pair and watched them as they, well, as Gokudera argued. These two obviously were aware of the mafia, well, one of them was while the other just thought of it as a game. He figured that it wasn't good for the boy to think of this as child's play when they could seriously get injured. He was about to say something to them until a certain brunette finally stepped out.

"Hai, Hai, enough goofing around. You're all scaring people and they all look like they're getting ready to call the cops here, so I suggest you stop unless you boys want to spend a night or two in the slammer." Tsuna leaned against the stone gate that guarded his house and looked at both parties. The brunette thought of the police taking these people away for a day or two wouldn't be so bad but Reborn would have his head if he let that happen.

"Juudaime, these people have been stalking your house!" Gokudera informed him.

"Yeah, they're Dino-san's family and they just tagged along with him." Tsuna clued the clueless boy in. Tsuna honestly didn't know what to do with Gokudera. He'd storm in without thinking much of the situation and wherever he went, he had always started something someone. Tsuna was going to have to calm him down if he wasn't going to leave him alone, since letting the silverette think what he wants would cause unnecessary trouble.

"Oh so they're allies, that's a relief. They looked too strong to take on ourselves." Yamamoto just grinned.

"Yeah... well if you two have no business here, then go home. As for you, since you've done your business with Fuuta, go back to Italy." Tsuna then turned to go back inside.

"Aw come on, I just talked with you for what, a half hour and now you're kicking me out?" Dino moved to follow the brunette. This was after he told his men to go and wait at the hotel for him. They understood and saluted before taking their leave.

"Oi Teme, Juudaime doesn't want you here!" Gokudera said and rushed to follow Tsuna and get inside before the older blond did.

"I could say the same to you. Didn't my lil bro say to go home?" Dino still tried to sound kind but he was getting irritated by the younger.

"Maa maa, Tsuna's just being antisocial." Yamamoto moved past them and entered the house first. Once they had all re-entered, much to Tsuna's annoyance, they settled in the living room where there was more space. After a short questioning about Fuuta and the other unfamiliar people in the room, Reborn had suggested that they introduce each other so as to avoid confusion. This was when he popped out of nowhere and was dressed like a psychiatrist and pretended to be helping the group with their internal problems. This made Tsuna question why Reborn was cosplaying for such a role. Since he knew the infant when he looked like a full grown man, it was strange for him to see the hitman dressed like this but he didn't question him about it... yet.

After all the introductions were finished and the confusion was out of the way, Fuuta then explained to Gokudera and Yamamoto why he was there in the first place.

"Wow so he can tell the future?" The black haired boy was amazed.

"Not the future, just the ultimate rankings of a person." Tsuna sighed and just dealt with their presences.

"That's pretty nifty, how does it work?" Yamamoto looked towards Fuuta. The younger looked pleased with the newcomers and felt safe talking with them. Tsuna was a little happy that Fuuta was getting comfortable with this many strange people around him but he didn't show it on his face. Dino was just sitting on the opposite side from where the conversation was happening and was talking a bit with Reborn.

"You know Reborn, I don't mind that they're Tsuna's family but they're all just so young and it's dangerous that Gokudera's like a lit fuse and Yamamoto is clueless about this whole thing. If they don't change, it wouldn't only be dangerous to themselves but for Tsuna too."

"I'm aware that they're just kids but you started out like them. And they'll learn one day from their mistakes and will grow to be better mafiaso." Reborn justified.

"But still... what makes you so sure that they won't get seriously hurt or worse in the process?" Dino still wanted to argue this.

"You aren't in a position to argue with me when you still haven't cured your clumsiness." Reborn threatened.

"A-Ah, I get it." Dino left it at that. Just then, he felt the gravity around them sudden disappear as many loose objects from around the room started to float. At the same time, the door had opened and Mochida had walked in with a few shopping bags at hand.

"W-W-What's going on!" He exclaimed as all the people shifted their vision towards him.

"Ah Mochida-sempai, this kid was just showing us how his visions worked." Yamamoto said.

"Baka don't tell him that!" Gokudera flailed in the air in an attempt to smack Yamamoto in the head.

"Oh great." Tsuna groaned while Reborn just grinned at this development.

"Oh the kid is saying something." Yamamoto then moved his attention towards the nine year old who was in a trance on the ground.

"Mochida Kensuke is ranked number 23 as one of the most promising young assassins." Fuuta murmured only loud enough just to be audible for the people in the room. When he was finished with his ranking, he snapped out of his trance and everything fell back down, once again obeying the laws of gravity. "I have to write this down." Fuuta said and took out his ridiculously large book.

"How ironic that this ranking is about the one that just walked in." Reborn smirked.

"I'm ranked 23 for what?" Mochida was utterly confused. "I'm not an assassin and what are you people?! Does this have to do with those crazy men in black from before?"

"See, this whole thing is partly your fault because of your men hanging around outside." Tsuna sighed, not wanting to deal with this. Dino said an apology as Mochida just stood like a statue in his place. "Well, before I say anything else, where are Okaa-san and the kids, sempai?" Tsuna asked him.

"They just outside. Nana-san is trying to calm that cow kid down." He answered.

"Kono Ahoshi, causing trouble for Nana-san."

"Hah, then we can't talk in here..." Tsuna said and moved to get the bags from Mochida. "I'll put these away and you guys go upstairs." Tsuna frowned at this unnecessary trouble that he was getting into again.

"Ah Juudaime, please allow me to put those away." Gokudera ran to help the brunette.

"I'll help too." Yamamoto agreed.

"Tsu-kun tadaima!" Nana called into the house.

"Okaeri Okaa-san." Tsuna said from the kitchen.

"Is Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun here as well? We have so many guests today. It's a good thing I did the shopping." Nana smiled happily that she'd be able to cook a big feast again today.

"Mama no gohan saikou da! Gyahaha!" (Mama's food is the best!) Lambo exclaimed as Ipin was yelling at him to behave. Just then, Bianchi had walked out of her room and welcomed Nana home. This had surprised Mochida that an incredibly hot woman was living in the same house as his kouhai.

"Hayato, you came to visit me!" Bianchi hugged her little brother.

"Aneki, I didn't know... you... were here!" Gokudera once again convulsed in the presence of the woman and passed out. That reminded Tsuna that he had yet to ask the silverette why he reacted that way in front of his sister.

"This is a crazy household..." Mochida said to himself as he witnessed the busy chaos and the hustle and bustle of the residents. "I wonder why I came here in the first place..." Mochida thought of sneaking his way out of the house but he was stopped by the infant dressed in a black suit with a fedora on his head and had weird sideburns.

"If you want your questions answered, I suggest you wait for them before making your decision of cutting ties. But I should warn you that once you know, you mustn't breathe a word of this information to anyone unrelated. If you do, then the rest of your life will be a living he** and this will be reassured by yours truly." The raven haired boy shivered as he noticed the evil glint in the kid's eyes. He knew that once he heard what he wanted, he'd already be so deep in this mess that he'd be given no choice but to stay.

He felt like he was kissing his normal days of being bored goodbye and was welcoming a world that would never allow him to slack off again. This made him wonder once again as to why he had followed Sawada to his house.

**Alrighty then… another chapter down and still loads to come  
****So yes… I added details to Fuuta's background and smushed it with Dino's entrance  
****I'll still do daily life with everyone  
****Just so to get a bigger impact for something later  
****Hopefully just one or two chapters, if all goes well, before I'll start the major storyline  
****And we'll be kicking it off with the Kokuyo arc**

**Hope you guys liked the chapter  
****And I'm sorry for the long wait  
****Sorry if it felt a little rushed  
****Writer's Block is a disease I tell you ^^  
****Haha Owari Desu~**

Updated: 13/01/2013


	8. Target 7: Family Entrance Test

**Chiwassu Minna-san~  
****I'm sorry that it's been so long since the last chapter  
****I'm trying my best to update all the stories that are my priorities  
****Not the ones that are for fun…  
****  
Recently, I updated Keeper of the Dying Will  
****And hopefully I'll finish the OP: 2-B Field Trip story as well  
****Then there's the KnB: Middle Years story  
****Then I added a PoT Story: The Unknown Prince of Tennis  
****I think that's it for now…  
****Those are my priorities right now**

**And I can explain my absence… (_ _") I blame school and KPOP haha yeah  
****I've into KPOP recently and I don't know how but it's REALLY addictive… I'm warning you  
****Well let's start this story!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned KHR, then I would... hmmm…. I probably would've elaborated more on Hibari's backstory…. I sooo wanna know how he got that way**

* * *

Target 7: Family Entrance Test

Mochida was fidgeting as he was sitting in the bedroom of one of the most antisocial guys he knows; also, his fidgeting was mostly because he was sitting across an infant with a gun at hand. He didn't know what this kid was about but he knew that if he spilled anything he heard today, then he'd be as good as dead. The blond from earlier had said his goodbyes, so there was no need to worry about those men in black anymore but somehow, he got the feeling that this kid was much worse than any of them put together.

"S-So..." He mumbled, wanting to break the silence in the room.

It wasn't like anyone else would say anything since Yamamoto seemed content just sitting and looking like he didn't have a thought in his brain at all. Then there was Gokudera who was just passed out on the ground for who knows what reason. And finally the infant was just sitting there with his black beady eyes staring at him like he knew everything that he was thinking.

"We're only waiting for Dame-Tsuna to finish helping Mama put away the groceries." The infant answered before Mochida said anything else.

"Ah." The raven haired boy mumbled again.

"Maa don't be so uptight sempai, we're all friends here." Yamamoto grinned at the other. Mochida didn't really know what had changed in the baseball ace's expression but somehow, he seemed to look much happier than what he had seen before.

"R-Right." Mochida still didn't relax however. Finally, after a while, Tsuna had walked in with an annoyed looking expression.

"Alright, so I'm not saying this because I'm going to rejoin the family or anything but if we get him to join, then it wouldn't be breaking omerta right?" Tsuna looked at the infant as he sat down, around the table with Yamamoto and Mochida.

"That's right, but only if he agrees." Reborn had an evil glint in his eye. "And also, you can't just claim to leave the family since there's no documentation stating such a thing."

"Well, that's still in processing then." The brunette insisted. "And with you around, I don't think sempai'll have much of a choice." Tsuna sounded like this was all just too troublesome to deal with. The boy then looked at Mochida. "Although it doesn't really sound like it, I really am sorry about getting you involved by accident, sempai." Tsuna leaned on the table, resting his head on his left palm.

"_He really doesn't sound like he's sorry."_ Mochida sweatdropped. "Well whatever, let's just get this over with. So what did that kid with the spaced out eyes mean when he said that I was ranked as some assassin?"

"Yeah, he ranks people who are part of the mafia in random categories that are either asked or at random. You just happened to be in the room when he was ranking so that's probably why we ended up with such." The brunette still didn't give the slightest interest in the topic.

"Th-The Maf...ia?" Mochida sat there, mouth hung open while looking at everyone present in the room to see some sort of reaction, or there lack of much to his surprise. "Wh-Why aren't you guys the least bit taken aback by any of this?" The older black haired boy questioned them, seemingly getting more and more hysterical.

"Hmm? Oh are we talking about the mafia game?" Yamamoto snapped up and looked around at everyone.

"Yamamoto, I'm pretty sure it's not a game." Mochida's eye started to twitch as he to note of the infant and Tsuna's seriousness, or their air of seriousness.

"Maa, that's what Gokudera says." The ravenhaired baseball player laughed.

"So, he's in on it too?" the third year pointed to the silverette.

"He was born into it." Reborn answered.

"Wow, so Gokudera's been playing this mafia game since he was born? That's cool." Yamamoto commented again lightheartedly. At this point, everyone just decided that they were going to ignore these comments from then on.

"So then you guys really are..."

"Hey... I said that I'm not part of any of this. I just happen to know stuff." Tsuna cut the older boy off.

"Tsuna is supposed to be the one to become the tenth head of the mafia family, Vongola. But some... complicated issues happened and now he's rebelling against his family. Of course Mama is unaware of this so I expect you to keep this from her. And if you endanger or mention any of this to unrelated personnel or endanger the lives of innocent civilians, or if you reveal classified information on the Family to any outsiders, then you'll drop dead quicker than you can blink." Reborn said with a heavy tone.

"G-Gotcha... so is that that Omerta thing that Sawada mentioned?" Mochida somewhat hesitated to ask anything after getting threatened like that. Of course this was a whole load heavier than what he was letting on but he couldn't freak out with the crazy infant with a gun.

"Those are just subparts to the Omerta, it's mainly a code of silence between members to not reveal any information to anyone." Reborn explained.

"Uh huh... so why is the mafia in Namimori?" Mochida asked another question.

"Like I said, Tsuna's going to be a mafia boss."

"Am not." The brunette rebutted.

"So he needs to be surrounded by things mafia related to get him in the mood." The infant continued.

"It's not like I wanted you to show up out of thin air." Tsuna retorted.

"And as long as you understand the importance of secrecy, your life will be spared." Mochida was a little bit more relieved to hear that. "So what's your decision? Will you join the famiglia or will you walk away like nothing happened?" Reborn looked at the boy dead in the eyes. Mochida stared back to see if he had any chance of escape but after a few moments, he shivered and blinked before looking away.

"Like Sawada said, you won't give me much of a choice, will you?" Mochida scratched the back of his head, starting to get used to the idea that these guys were mafia related; at least, he tried to get used to it. "So, if that's it, then I guess I'll head home for the day." Mochida stood up and slung his shinai bag over his shoulder.

"Hold it right there." Reborn said and everyone in the room froze, looking at him.

"What is it now, Reborn?" Tsuna frowned, suspicion was heard in his voice.

"Now that the Kendo Captain as joined our ranks, I think it's time that we have our family entrance test." The infant's eye had an evil glint for a moment.

"Never heard of it and am not interested. I'm sure you just made this up to kill time." Tsuna crossed his arms at the back of his head and leaned against his bedframe.

"Come on Tsuna, it sounds like fun." Yamamoto shifted over and slung an arm around the boy's shoulders as he leaned forward.

"I-If y-yak-kyuu b-baka is in... th-then I'm i-in." Gokudera suddenly woke up and struggled to sit up right, using the table as his support.

"Is he alright?" Mochida pointed towards the silverette.

"He's like that usually." Tsuna brushed it off. "So what do you say, Mochida-sempai? Though I don't think it's a good idea, if you say yes, then there's no helping it."

The senior sighed. "Like I said before, with the kid here, I won't have much of a choice myself."

"Good, then let's get going to the school grounds shall we?" The hitman jumped onto Tsuna's head, crossing his arms.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Alright, so what's this about?" Tsuna sat on the grassy hill that rested on the side of the baseball diamond while the other three boys stood on the dirt playing field. Reborn was seated beside him on a bench drinking what smelt like coffee.

"Simple, I'll give them a series of tests to test their flexibility, quick wits and their ability to survive." The infant explained.

"So survival's a major part huh?" Tsuna brought his knees to his chest hugging them, and rested his chin upon them; his facial expression still unexpressive.

"What do you mean survival?" Mochida questioned, feeling much regret for agreeing to such a thing.

"Failing this test equals death." The hitman put it as bluntly as possible.

"Aha, the kid's so funny." Yamamoto laughed the condition off.

"Something's seriously messed up in your mind." Mochida flicked Yamamoto's forehead. The boy flinched and rubbed the spot that had been hit. Gokudera then praised the senior, whom he deemed as a 'Bamboo Leech', for finally saying something he agreed on. Mochida then retorted using 'Guard Mutt' as his insult. The two then started to get at each other's necks before Yamamoto tried to separate them with his 'maa, maa~ let's calm down now', but neither boy calmed and just directed their anger towards him. And to make them even angrier, he didn't react in a way that any normal person would and just continually took their insults as their way of showing affection, which they rebutted immediately.

"This is what you get for bringing them in for a fake test." Tsuna sighed at the yelling and arguing. "It's pointless to bring them all into the same family if they're just going to argue with each other. If they were on a battlefield right now, they'd all be shot dead in an instant." The infant looked at his student's expression to see if there was any sort of feeling but much to his dread, there was just a sign of boredom and annoyance.

That was something that he had to fix and fast if the hitman didn't want to be disturbed by this any longer. Yes, the world's strongest hitman did find this apathetic attitude disturbing, especially with the words that usually came out of the boy's mouth.

"If they're going to be in your family, then they need to be trained on how to behave and act properly towards urgent situations and this test is the perfect way for us to know in what areas each one is lacking in." Reborn shook off his previous feeling and looked towards the bickering trio, or the one smiling and two yelling idiots. He then tilted his fedora down over his eyes as Leon transformed into a gun. He then took aim and shot towards their feet. That caused the three to freeze, staring at the spot where the bullet disappeared.

"I don't miss shots purposely, so if you three don't shape up, then you'll get a bullet through your brains." Gokudera and Mochida shivered at the thought while Yamamoto just stood there with his ever present smile, though it was a bit different from before.

"That's interesting kid, but just so you know, I'm really competitive and don't take to losing very well." The baseball ace challenged, seemingly joking.

"Hey Yamamoto, this isn't a game. You have to take this seriously." Mochida had a dead serious look in his eyes.

"Come on sempai, this is the kid's game, if we don't let him win then how can we call ourselves his nii-san? We're gonna be in his family right?" The boy answered simply.

"No use talking to that idiot, his mind's beyond help and if he dies, then that's one less person that will get in Juudaime's way." Gokudera got into serious mode as well. He didn't have the time to be messing around with those other two, this was his time to appeal towards his Juudaime and he wasn't going to blow this chance to become his boss' right hand man.

Mochida just sighed inwardly at the other's comment and finally understood why he called Sawada 'Juudaime'. Though the silverette is right in a way, if this whole thing was real and death was a natural occurrence in this type of world, then he didn't have time to be worrying about others. But he still thought it a shame that people had to be killed in such a way.

"So now that you're all ready, let's get this test started." Reborn held up Leon who transformed from a gun to a push button. He then pressed it and suddenly, out of the ground came various machine guns and mechanical arms holding swords and other weapons. Mochida decided to throw his shinai to the side as it wouldn't stand a chance against the real deal. Gokudera just shifted his feet, getting ready to dodge. Yamamoto was just standing casually with his hands in his pockets.

'The three of them are so different.' Thought Tsuna as he observed each of their stances. He then took a look at the various weapons and robotics that came from the ground. 'Hibari-san isn't going to be happy about this when or if he finds out that someone messed with school property.' The brunette thought sarcastically.

"There's no time for your sarcastic thoughts, Dame-Tsuna. Observe your family well." Reborn instructed. Tsuna just ignored the mindreading and just did what the infant wanted without saying a word for once.

"Okay, let's start with stage one." Reborn then activated the mechanical arms and they started throwing knives towards the boys while a few others fired bullets. They all flinched and ducked out of the way before they were impaled by various blades, but that wasn't the only round. As the three separated, the mechanical arms threw knives towards each person and aimed smartly. "They move well." Reborn commented, watching each person's movements.

"They each have a good start, Mochida-sempai doesn't have many unnecessary movements most likely due to his kendo training, Yamamoto is an amateur and is moving on instinct and Gokudera is experienced in battle so it should be natural for him." Tsuna commented.

"Indeed. You aren't as Dame as your name suggests." Reborn taunted.

"You know that that's just a misunderstanding." Tsuna said annoyed at his tutor's childishness.

"Maa, let's add on stage two, they're getting used to the arms' strategies." He pushed the button again and bow guns had appeared.

"Putting them in the middle of knives and bow guns on top of shooting at them... you're really trying to kill them aren't you?" Tsuna eyed his tutor.

"It wouldn't be an experience unless they experience the real thing." They then looked back towards the boys to see how they were doing. Mochida was keeping an eye on every machine that was armed and made sure to effectively dodge each thing that came at him. He couldn't risk getting injured as his teammates needed him to lead them in the upcoming tournament. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gokudera take out dynamite from who knows where and lit them before tossing them towards some of the more troublesome arms.

He inwardly thanked the boy for taking out some of the targets, yet wondered at the same time why he carried dynamite randomly and how he instantly lit them for that matter. The third year then started to get the idea of attacking without a weapon and ducked in between two machines and forced them to hit each other, causing both weapons to blow up.

"Aha, toys these days are very realistic aren't they sempai?" Yamamoto called out as he dodged a medley of arrows and bullets. The boy then slid on his knees to dodge a large knife coming at his head. The two then watched as it embedded itself in a tree trunk. Mochida just gaped at his kouhai's words.

'Something's seriously messed up there.' Mochida just focused on his own problems at hand.

"Are you an idiot?" Gokudera's concentration was broken the moment he heard words come out of the baseball player's mouth.

"You've been calling him an idiot since the first time I met you and you choose now to question that?!" Mochida felt a vein throb in his forehead at the silverette's response to the black haired boy's statement. Just then, he unconsciously grabbed a knife and was defending against the oncoming weapons by knocking them out of the air.

"What was that, Bamboo Leech?!" Gokudera yelled back, blowing up another arm.

"Name calling again, Guard Mutt? You're all bark but no bite!" Mochida continued to yell at the silverette.

"Are we starting this conversation again?" Yamamoto looked at the other two.

"This isn't a conversation!" The two boys exclaimed towards the one, yet at the same time, they were still dodging and defending themselves.

"And who was the one who said that they'd be shot dead in an instant if they were standing on a battlefield while bickering?" Reborn smirked at his student.

"Guess you're gonna rub that in my face for a long time." Tsuna responded, scratching the back of his head, yawning.

"Good to see you so concerned." Reborn just shook his head, ashamed that he thought he would get some reaction from the boy. "So why don't we turn up to stage three." He pressed the button and the mechanical arms, the ones remaining anyways, stopped shooting and disappeared back into the ground. The three boys in the field paused, wondering what was going on. Looking around, they realized that the baseball field was torn up and littered with blades, arrows and bullets. It was then that they turned their focus towards a giant missile launcher that suddenly appeared.

"Are you kidding me right now? It was a miracle that I survived the other things but a missile?!" Mochida gaped at the large weapon.

"Wow, how did the kid get a toy like that?" Yamamoto put a hand over his eyes to shield the sun so he could get a better look.

"In what way would that be considered a toy, yakyuu-baka?!" Gokudera couldn't take it anymore. "Reborn-san, I can't allow this guy to be part of Juudaime's famiglia." The silverette complained.

"Like I said, I don't plan on being a boss." Tsuna commented.

Ignoring his student, Reborn responded back. "If Yamamoto makes it through this last trial, then he'll be considered as part of the family whether you are okay with it or not. If you don't like it, then you can leave any time you like."

"There's no way I'm letting him become Juudaime's right hand man." Gokudera fought back.

"There's no need for me to have a right hand if I'm not part of the family." Tsuna tried to voice out again but once again, it fell on deaf ears. Mochida just pitied the boy, but after that, he focused again on the missile launcher.

"You're not really going to attack us with missiles are you?" Mochida asked before the infant pressed the button again.

"Of course not, I'm going to attack you with the missile launcher." The hitman stated as if there were a difference between them.

"There's no difference!" Mochida started grinding his teeth in frustration at this madness.

"Here we go." He then pushed the button and the launcher started to fire off missiles going in every direction. The boys were ducking and running, trying to avoid getting blown up but that got harder and harder as explosions started to cover the area and it didn't help that Gokudera tried to explode an explosive with dynamite. The third year refrained from commenting however, since it would without a doubt lead to a fight.

"Wow, this is like Gokudera's fireworks." Yamamoto laughed. The two boys just bit their tongues this time. Just then, a missile had lost a side flap that caused it to fly around haphazardly until headed straight for Tsuna and Reborn.

"That's not good." Tsuna simply looked at the approaching object but didn't make much of a rush to get out of the way.

"Juudaime! Reborn-san!" Gokudera exclaimed and tried to run to save him but he was all the way on the opposite side of the field. Mochida wanted to make a dash for it as well but he was in the outfields. That only left Yamamoto who was already running up the hill and rushed the two who were still sitting. His momentum caused them to roll down the hill.

(A/N: let's say a 10 foot high hill... I don't think that's very big but is big enough to get up there fast and to roll down XD haha)

"They're not going to make it!" Mochida was still running, seeing that the explosion would still hit them partially at their distance. It was the very last missile and of course the last one was a misfire.

'They're just making this much more troublesome.' Tsuna grabbed Yamamoto to stop rolling just as they reached the field's surface and then pushed off the ground causing the dirt to cloud around them. The boy then, as discreetly as he could, produced a dying will flame in his palm and used it as a thrust to get away faster. Reborn had felt the presence of a flame but wasn't sure of its origin. He didn't want to question it right now as he was doing his best to hang on to Yamamoto's shoulder.

The three then landed with a thud, Tsuna landed that way on purpose so as to make it look like Yamamoto had pushed them that far away, and they then looked to see the explosive blow a large crater into the side of the hill. "And who said this was a good idea?" The brunette looked at the hitman.

"Don't get cheeky." The infant retorted.

Mochida had finally reached them and was panting, bending down and leaning on his knees. "Hibari isn't going to like the look of this place. We'll get bitten to death for sure." A shiver went down his spine just thinking about it.

"Juudaime! Juudaime! Are you alright? Injured? Hurt?" He started to do a checkup on the boy.

"I'm fine, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna stood up and brushed himself off to prove his point.

"That's a relief." Yamamoto stood up as well. "I was really worried there for a second." The black haired boy smiled sheepishly. Reborn was still present on his shoulder.

"And there's no need to worry about the damages, the Vongola will handle the cleanup." Reborn reassured.

"That's another relief." Mochida calmed. "Though, I guess you aren't much of a baka, Yamamoto." Mochida said towards him.

"Maa~ my body just moved by itself." The boy admitted.

"That's a good reflex to have." Reborn informed.

"That's cool." Yamamoto grinned again but he replaced it with a surprised expression when Gokudera stood in front of him. "What is it, Gokudera?" He questioned the silverette.

"I guess you aren't useless after all." Gokudera admitted. "Good job on saving Juudaime."

"Wow, the Guard Mutt has a soft side." Mochida smirked.

"Why you..." the silverette held a shaking fist.

"Can't you guys just drop it?" Tsuna finally spoke up.

"I'll do whatever Juudaime wishes." Gokudera grumbled to Mochida.

"Aw, cute." Mochida took the opportunity. The silverette just maintained his face and bore with the taunt.

"Moving on, since you all are still alive, you are granted permission to officially join the famiglia." Reborn announced. "You all did a good job at defending yourselves but there are things that you lack. Gokudera, you need to think straight and not lose your head when you are taunted. You also need to use common sense when using your own weapons." Gokudera shrunk back a bit at the last bit, realizing that it wasn't so smart to throw dynamite at exploding missiles.

"Mochida, you have good movement but like Gokudera, you're a lit fuse and are easily provoked and when pushed into a weaponless situation, you resort to reckless behavior. You must think smart and value your life like it's your last, which it is." Reborn reminded. Mochida also shrunk back a bit, realizing his mistakes as well.

"Yamamoto, you have too much excessive movement when dodging and running. You're form and stamina is good but you need to perk your brain up more."

"Thanks for the advice, kid. That'll help me shape up for baseball too." Yamamoto said to the hitman on his shoulder.

"Right, this is all good and well but the sun's setting, so I'm going home now." Tsuna turned away and walked off.

"Ah, Juudaime, please allow me to escort you back." Gokudera offered.

"I'll come along too." Yamamoto ran after them.

"My house is that way, so I don't have much of a choice but to go with you guys." Mochida put up a front. Reborn just smiled at this scene from under his hat. It was refreshing to see a new famiglia grow and with aspiring assassins no less. Reborn had seen the potential that both Yamamoto and Mochida carried as future killers and he agreed that Mochida would no doubt become one of the top in his generation. The other important factor was that they were loyal and would undoubtly follow Tsuna no matter what and it was just a matter of time before Tsuna realized how lucky he was to have such comrades by his side.

'When Tsuna finally agrees to rejoin the family, they'll become a strong force in the future.'

**Yoshaa~ another chapter down  
****And I realized but Mochida says that he 'doesn't have a choice' very often haha  
****Come on dude, you always have a choice  
****It's just that you can't do anything to keep from choosing a specific choice XDD**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it  
****And sorry for my four month absence  
****I'll make up for it, I swear  
****But for now, I'm off the clock haha ^^  
****Owari desu~**

Updated: 09/05/2013


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